Posted January 26, 2013 by Chris

“This website describes an open design for a small, $800 robot suitable for swarm-style multiagent research, robotics education, and other tasks. Our goal is to get as much functionality as possible from $800 per robot, replicate the robot many times to create a small collaborative swarm, and document the results to make it easier for you to do the same.”

Posted November 18, 2012 by Chris

“I am strong proponent of customized embedded systems; a single piece of hardware aimed at solving a single problem. If we have a particular task that is time intensive, repetitive, difficult to configure and somewhat ‘shady’, it is probably best to execute it in hardware. Lets consider a tool for recovering passwords from PDF-files.”

Posted October 7, 2012 by Chris

“This is my electronic combination lock to use with an outdoor gate. The functionality is implemented in software. It turns on a relay (usually to open a door) for a few seconds if someone enters the valid code. Alternatively, it works as an ON/OFF switch, which toggles the relay each time the code is entered.”

Posted July 2, 2012 by Chris

“Our security system is a stand alone device that allows access to registered users identified by their magnetic cards. For this project, “access” is represented by a lit LED, showing how the system could be used to control an external locking mechanism.”

Posted February 10, 2012 by Chris

“A hardware keylogger is a perfect solution for monitoring user activity, at very low risk of disclosure. A hardware keylogger is a purely electronic device, so no access to the operating system is required, no traces are left, and software has no possibility of detecting such a device. However, the hardware keylogger concept inherits one weakness: physical access to the keylogger is required for retrieving captured data. This problem has finally found its solution: a Wireless Keylogger.”

Posted February 3, 2012 by Chris

“This Digital code lock can be used for security purposes on doors, cupboards, desks, etc. Once installed it works without any maintenance and there is no need to keep a key. It also shows the time, day and current room temperature on its home screen which is sensed using a LM35 temperature sensor.”

Posted October 5, 2011 by Chris

Another data logger! This one uses a PIC to load GPS points into an EEPROM and when you’re done you can unload the points into your PC through a serial port, put them into google maps and get a map of where you (or the data logger) traveled. Would be cool to put one of these into the mail and see how efficient the mail system is. The article is in dutch so use google translate for english.

Posted September 5, 2011 by Chris

Here’s an article that details out how to access the power system of your car and use it for your own in-car electronics modifications. This project specifically talks about building a DIY security system using a PIC microcontroller and some additional circuitry.

Posted August 6, 2011 by Chris

Here’s an article that presents a rather innovative look at how to spoof magnetic card readers. The spoofer uses an atmega168 connected up to an electromagnet. The article has the source code, hardware schematic and action shots, don’t miss it!

Posted August 2, 2011 by Chris

R2-D2 is a favorite to geeks everywhere and at least one of us in China has brought some life and extended features to the little droid. This project which was submitted for competition in Beijing is a combo of navigation, firefighting and automation rolled into one.