Gameduino is a game adapter for Arduino – or anything else with an SPI interface – built as a single shield that stacks up on top of the Arduino and has plugs for a VGA monitor and stereo speakers. Anyone who can write an Arduino sketch can create video games. It’s capable of the full […]
Author Archives: the machinegeek
OpenCV: Open source Computer Vision
Open source Computer Vision (OpenCV) is a library of programming functions for real time computer vision. It is released under a BSD license and is free for both academic and commercial use on the Linux, Mac and Windows platforms. The OpenCV library has 500+ optimized algorithms. Example applications of the OpenCV library are Human-Computer Interaction […]
Implementation of UART transmitter in Verilog HDL for Spartan3 FPGA
If you’re experimenting with FPGAs its helpful to know how various common tasks are coded. Here is an article by M. Yasir explaining how to code a UART transmitter in a Spartan 3 FPGA. The tutorial uses the Verilog hardware definition language.
Hacked Sprint/Nextel is a secure walkie talkie
Looking for a unique way of communicating at your hackerspace? Why not hack used Sprint/Nextel phones into free “off the grid”, relatively secure walkie talkies? Here’s a cool keyboard trick which reportedly works on Sprint/Nextel Motorola i315, i325 models and some other Motorola phones, which puts the phone into “Direct Talk” (a/k/a MOTOTalk) mode. This […]
Arduino Cyclocomputer
Here’s a project which unifies art and tech: a LilyPad Cyclocomputer. Mark Fickett designed this bicycle computer which uses a magnet and reed switch as a cyclocomputer wheel sensor. This sensor is read by the Arduino/LilyPad (Atmega328) which processes the data and stores two trip meters and a speed histogram; the trip meters are reported […]
Modkit beta released
The first public beta of Modkit, an in-browser graphical programming environment for microcontrollers, has been released. Modkit allows you to program Arduino and Arduino compatible hardware using simple graphical blocks and/or traditional text code. Modkit’s graphical blocks are heavily inspired by the Scratch programming environment developed by the Lifelong Kindergarten Group at the MIT Media […]
Pentest-bookmark collection
The Open Penetration Testing Bookmarks Collections is a collection of handy bookmarks to aid in your day to day work or in the course of research. Founder J.Haddi writes, They are not all inclusive and some sections need to be parsed but they are all good reference materials. I find having this Hackery folder in […]
Five cheap breadboard prototyping tips and tricks – list #2
Following up on their first list of tips, 43oh.com presents this second list of cheap breadboard prototyping tricks. SD card headers, LED diffusers and more. Thanks opcode! Via the contact form.
Display custom characters on 16×2 LCDs
Chris from PyroElectro informs us of his tutorial on designing custom characters for display on a 16×2 HD44780 compatible LCD. This tutorial shows how to use the advanced functionality of HD44780 16×2 LCD’s where you can create your own characters instead of using the built-in character set, and includes a simple demonstration of animation on […]
Sensor + microcontroller = smart sensor
Sensors are commonly used in conjunction with microcontrollers which read the sensor’s output and make decisions based on it. Now a new class of smart sensors is being introduced which will integrate the sensor and microcontroller in one unit. One example is the Freescale MMA9550L, the industry’s first intelligent high precision motion sensing platform that […]
Short notice: Free Atmel Webinar
Atmel is offering a free webinar on Designing with Atmel 6-pin tinyAVR Flash microcontrollers TODAY (February 24, 2011) at 8:00 AM PT. The purpose is to present an advanced feature overview of the Atmel tinyAVR 6-pin family of Atmel picoPower® devices, highlighting the key benefits and design techniques for reducing your system size requirements and […]
DOTKLOK: Arduino based digital clock
DOTKLOK by Andrew O’Malley is an open-source, hackable, Arduino-based digital clock that displays a series of unique time-telling animations. The passing of time is depicted with numbers and abstract/geometric patterns, including animations inspired by classic video games such as Pong, Tetris, Pacman, and Space Invaders. An optional “random mode” changes the animation each day at […]
Free Oreilly workshop – Processing and Arduino in Tandem: Build a Mixer
Oreilly is offering a special follow-up to their earlier Processing and Arduino course. “Processing and Arduino in Tandem: Build a Mixer” will be presented free online by Instructor Joseph Gray on two successive Fridays. The course makes use of the projBox, a control box with installed potentiometers, switches and LEDs, which interfaces with the Arduino […]
Xilinx XC9500 CPLD docs
Here’s a quick link to the Xilinx library of support documentation for the XC9500 series of CPLDs. Datasheets, user guide, app notes and more!
TI launches video repository
Texas Instruments has announced a new video website: TI recently launched a new video repository which really takes us to the next level in online video. This new system (which can be found at http://videos.ti.com) creates a one-stop-shop for seeing all the video content, High quality video streaming with full screen capability. Share functionality which […]
Monitor snow depth with microcontroller
The snow pummeling many regions this week makes one think about a snow depth measurement project. Here’s an idea abstract from Preetika S. Sapra and Gaurav Sapra for their design of a Microcontroller Based Snow Depth Sensor for Measuring the Depth of Snow Avalanche. This concept paper discusses the design and construction of a device […]
QP state machine framework for Arduino
Quantum Leaps has released his QP state machine framework for Arduino. He says: QP is a lightweight, open source, state machine framework for microcontrollers such as Arduino. QP enables you to build well-structured and power-efficient event-driven programs as systems of concurrently executing state machines (UML statecharts). You can think of QP as a modern real-time […]
Mars clock using PIC16F877A
What do you do if you have a spare LCD module with backlight, a weird 16 button keyboard, and a PIC16F877A microcontrering dust? If you’re avtanski, a monster Martian Clock immediately springs to mind. This thoroughly documented project shows you how to take these few common components and build a unique clock that features 16 […]
XSVF specification document
We’ve referred to various file formats for programming CPLDs and FPGAs in recent posts. One is the Serial Vector Format (SVF), an industry standard file format that is used to describe JTAG chain operations in a compact, portable fashion. Its specifications are fully described in this 26 page PDF produced by Texas Instruments. To provide […]
VHDL tutorial from UPenn
The University of Pennsylvania’s Department of Electrical and Systems Engineering presents this tutorial on the VHDL programming language. VHDL is one of the primary languages used to program CPLDs and FPGAs. Once you get your program written, you can load in onto a device with your own Bus Pirate for $30, including world-wide shipping. Also […]