Electronic Hacks

H. P. Friedrichs Pipsqueak Receiver Build

Thanks to Pete Friedrichs for sending in his Pipsqueak Receiver Build. I love the fact that it has been built from parts scavenged out of his junk box. At first glance I would not have guessed that it was built from junk since it has a nice kit look to it. I have never seen a spiderweb coil before, it looks absolutely fantastic. I should add one to my next

OpenPicus IDE and Framework is now available

Looking for a powerful open source PIC microcontroller based platform that is built with wireless sensors and communication in mind? Look no further, today OpenPicus has been launched. A free IDE,  inexpensive hardware and a great Italian team all points to great success. If you are a student make sure you have your microcontroller instructor drop the OpenPicus team an email requesting your free Campus Kit. Next time I am

Paro Therapeutic Robot at CES 2011

The Paro Therapeutic Robot was at CES 2011. This looks like a toy that your kids would play with but it is actually a very sophisticated robot. It is full of sensors that allow it to sense touch, bright lights and voice. Just like a pet you can call Paro by name and he will eventually relate that name to be his name. Paro is used in nursing homes, hospitals,

University of New South Wales Sunswift Solar Car Breaks Speed Record

Congratulations to the University of New South Wales Sunswift Solar Car team. They have broken the record for fastest solar powered vehicle with a speed of 88 km/h. Via: Eco Friend and Gizmag “UNSW’s Sunswift team has broken a long-standing land speed record for solar vehicles, with a Guinness-verified top speed of 88 km/h. Project manager Daniel Friedman takes us through the record attempt, which involved a team of UNSW

Microinfinity CruizCore XG1300L MEMS Digital Gyroscope for LEGO NXT

Microinfinity had a great booth for us hackers and hobbyists at CES 2011. Lauro had a LEGO NXT robot getting commands from a laptop to draw a line drawing of Mona Lisa, the LEGO robot is using their CruizCore® XG1300L MEMS gyroscope. The MEMS gyroscope is very accurate and is sure to be a great addition to the sensors available to LEGO NXT hobbyists. You can purchase the XG1300L sensor

muRata Boy and Girl Demonstration and Technical Overview at CES 2011

The first video is the basic muRata Boy and muRata Girl demonstration that was being done on the hour during the Consumer Electronics Show 2011. This is actually the first CES that muRata has attended, they would have been there every year if you looked inside the electronics that were brought there by other companies though since muRata manufactures components that are very common and can be found in most