If you are interested in autonomous systems, this tiny helicopter does a good job for its small size. “The purpose of this project was the design of a fully autonomous stabilization system intended for systems capable of intelligent programming and navigation. This means that the design focuses mainly on the control feedback systems that control the helicopter’s motors that then provide lift to increase and decrease altitude, and produce
If you like video games, this NES Espresso Machine allows you to wake up with caffeine and a game controller in your hand. “I have long admired the pioneering work of Rancilio Silvia owners in modding their espresso machines. Here, I present my Silvia given a PIC 16F876 microcontroller brain, a 20 character VFD display, nintendo controller, three zero-crossing solid state relays, IC thermometer, laser cut acrylic top, cold
This crazy computer controlled coffee roaster by Matthew Williams is just one of many stunningly elaborate machines displayed on Sweet Marias. “Here’s my homemade PID’d West Bend Poppery I setup. The PID is a Fuji PXR4 that can be used standalone or interfaced with my laptop via a USB cable. It’s pretty much self-contained except for the external variac that I use to control the fan as the roast progresses.
Hubert’s Laser Page has lots of cool laser projects documented. One section that caught my eye was one where he covers many ways of making an inexpensive XY laser scanner. Go and have a look at his article for details on using a CD player actuator, Piezo buzzer, Hard disk head actuator and Loudspeaker to get the task done. Unlike my hard drive oscilloscope, Hubert uses a computer to control
Our friends over at Zedomax have another cool project that will allow you to win the prize for coolest Christmas lights on your block! Only minor thing I would suggest is that the black AC wire be connected to “L” and the white AC wire be connected to “N” (sorry my electrical license made me do it 🙂 ). “Okay, today we are going try to build a computer controlled
You probably remember the Tranax ATM problems. The with the Tranax machines was due to a poor password system. This latest issue is with the security of ATM PIN number for the entire ATM network worldwide! Here are some papers that have some detailed information about the exploit. Decimalisation Table Attacks for PIN Cracking (PDF) API-Level Attacks on Embedded Systems (PDF) “Researchers who work for an Israeli computer security company
Mac Cody built Ol’ Blue is based on Robbie from the movie Forbidden Planet. “Ol’ Blue is a tracked robot based on a small single-board computer. This robot has undergone several enhancements and modifications since it was created. The links belows lead to pages describing the original Ol’ Blue, its “mods”, and the software written for it.”
