Posted March 4, 2011 by Chris

If motor and motion control is what you do, then you’ll want to take a look at this write-up. It goes through how to implement PID control using a PIC which is a much more robust method of controlling motors where error and stability issues seem to virtually disappear from servo systems.

Posted February 22, 2011 by Chris

This NXT robot uses the infrared color sensor to detect the distance from the ground to keep the system stable just like the real Segway! The project write-up includes lego-style build instructions and an action video.

Posted February 11, 2011 by Chris

Reverse Engineering is an important skill for electronics hobbyists because very often you will run into something you want to use, but don’t know how. An LCD is a tough thing to reverse engineer, but this tutorial shows you one approach to figuring out how to get things working.

Posted January 5, 2011 by Chris

This website takes a thorough look at shape manipulation through a human-computer interface with our hands. The movement is surprisingly fluid and fun to watch. The project write-up has some example vids and source code available for inspection.

Posted December 25, 2010 by Chris

Slapping in a wifi unit to your project is easier than you think. This project uses a pair of cheap ($14) wifi modules to do wireless in the 100’s of Mhz range. Beware, there is no packet structure by default, so some data might get lost in transit. See the write-up for schematics and how-to’s.

Posted December 21, 2010 by Chris

If you’re an avid bike rider and you have an extra nokia lcd laying around, this project is for you. Speedo uses a nokia lcd to display your current bicycle RPM’s and distance traveled. The project write-up includes: schematics, software and action shots.

Posted December 19, 2010 by Chris

This LED globe can be programmed to display a happy new year sign, a map of the earth or anything you want pretty much. The project write-up is all in russian but the pictures, videos and source code give you the real idea of what is going on.

Posted December 15, 2010 by Chris

Random lego-bots seem to be all over the net these days, but this one I couldn’t get enough of. It’s basically a 3d printer made out of legos. The website has the build instructions (from legos), the software it uses and some cool vids of it in action.

Posted December 10, 2010 by Chris

The robot ‘Loki’ is a type of protocol droid prototype. It has a laptop and pic at its core, along with 2 webcams for guidance through stereo vision and many other sensors. Take a look at the project write-up which has all the information about the robot.

Posted November 25, 2010 by Chris

Here’s a first shot at making a self balancing robot using IMU data and a powerful motor controller. The project write-up has a list of parts, the theory explained and a few videos of the robot in action.