Posted November 23, 2013 by Chris

"The various hardware modules are all open source designs – and I chose to use a mix and match approach to the system which was put together using hardware from a variety of vendors. Compatible devices were used from JeeLabs, Openenergymonitor and Nanode Ltd."

Posted November 21, 2013 by Chris

"For our final project, we re-engineered a remote control car to autonomously navigate through a track by detecting lanes and centering itself between them as well as detect objects in front of it and avoid collision. The RC car detects lanes through image input from a low-resolution camera mounted at its front. Using an IR distance sensor, the car determines when to stop accelerating once a certain distance between a forward object has been breached."

Posted November 18, 2013 by Chris

"This is my newest microcontroller board. Its based on an ATMega8/88 Controller. It’s suitable for small automation and measurement applications. The application can be battery powered or use a small external power supply. This board uses some of the definitions from Roboternetz."

Bit muster also has a collection of other innovative projects listed out all with download about source code and schematics.

Posted November 17, 2013 by Chris

"Last week I finally got time to do a bit of work. I made my own PCB 🙂 . I wish I had learned this back in college….What PCBs did I make? The line follower circuit I explained before…..This new robot uses very little wiring. None of the wires have been soldered. I have also replaced the mounts for the sensors. I will describe everything in today’s post."

Posted November 16, 2013 by Chris

"Presenting ‘6buttons’; a simple six button keypad based on the QProx QT160 charge transfer proximity sensor chip (the brains of the operation). Special mylar capacitors are required for it to work properly. I tried cheap-o ceramics with terrible results."

Posted November 13, 2013 by Chris

"Imagine that you sit on your PC desk, you pull the keyboard, the mouse is near by, you click the button and the computer boots. Now imagine the same scene, but instead of pushing just a button, you enter the security code!"

Posted November 10, 2013 by Chris

"As a beacon, unmodulated white light sucks….So, what to do? After rejecting a few stupid ideas I finally got interested in using X-Band microwave signals as a beacon. Oh my. Sounds pretty intimidating huh. 10,000 mHz radio is black magic. Or is it?"

Posted November 8, 2013 by Chris

"This is 60 MHz frequency meter / counter for measuring frequency from 10 Hz to 60 MHz with 10 Hz resolution. The meter provides very stable readings and has excellent input sensitivity thanks to on board amplifier and TTL converter, so it can even measure weak signals from crystal oscillators."

Posted November 5, 2013 by Chris

"For the final project we have decided to create an inexpensive solar tracking divide to be incorporated wit DIY solar panels. Our goal is to create an open source project that is easy to follow and can be produced by anyone at a low cost."

Posted November 1, 2013 by Chris

"Arduino-based project to create power strip driven remotely through an Ethernet network. To turn outlets you are connecting to the microcontroller via telnet and after entering a password, you can change the status of the main lines and see if they are on or off."