Omnidirectional remote controlled robot

Markus shared his Omnidirectional remote controlled robot in the project log forum:

Recently, I got interested in omni wheels, so I built this little robot. The robot has three pairs of omni wheels. I covered each roll of the omni wheels with liquid rubber (plastidip) to get better traction. I bought the cheapest servos I could find and modified them for continuous rotation. The robot is powered by four eneloop NiMH batteries and controlled by an Arduino nano 3.0.

Check out the video below the break.

Thanks Markus, we’ll send out a free QFP protoboard. Via the forum.

Continue reading “Omnidirectional remote controlled robot”

Processing releases Processing.js v1.1

Processing.js is the sister project of the popular Processing visual programming language, designed for the web. Processing.js makes your data visualizations, digital art, interactive animations, educational graphs, video games, etc. work using web standards and without any plug-ins. You write code using the Processing language, include it in your web page, and Processing.js does the rest.

In basic terms, Processing.js converts Processing code to JavaScript and runs it in the browser, using “canvas” download Processing.js here. Make your Processing *.pde files as you normally would. Create a web page that includes Processing.js as well as a “canvas” (JavaScript tag) with info about where to get your sketch file (you can specify multiple *.pde files, separating them with spaces). Load your web page, and it will parse, translate, and run your sketch in the browser. It would allow you to write interactive code to communicate with a web interfaced Arduino much the same way as Processing and Arduino can interact using the appropriate libraries.

Check out the Processing.js Quick Start Guide.

A beginner’s CPLD tutorial

Here’s a simple CPLD tutorial by Bitcycle.org which discusses detailed steps in the design and programming of a beginners first CPLD project. The project is adapted from Xilinx app note XAPP078, “XC9536 ISP Demo Board”. It uses the Xilinx XC9536 device, similar to the one on our CPLD development boards.

Lampduino 8×8 RGB matrix floor lamp

Lincomatic documented his Lampduino, an 8×8 RGB Matrix Floor lamp build.

This past weekend, I finally finished building my 8×8 RGB matrix floor lamp.  I call it Lampduino.  A Processing sketch running on a host computer controls Lampduino via a USB connection.  When turned on without a computer, it automatically displays a soothing plasma simulation. If you want to build one of your own, I wrote a step by step Instructable

Thanks Lincomatic! Via the contact form.

Zypad WL1500 wearable wrist computer

Eurotech has introduced the Zypad WL1500 , a wearable wrist computer that is based on the Marvell PXA320 processor with 128MB mobile SDRAM and 128MB mobile Flash. The platform includes a wide range of built-in wireless resources including WiFi, Bluetooth (or optional substitute Zigbee), GSM/GPRS/CMDA/EDGE, UMTS, HSDPA radio module support (optional, exclusive of each other) with integrated antenna, and GPS.

User interfaces includes a 3.5″ TFT resistive touchscreen display at QVGA (320 x 240) resolution, micro SD card slot, user accessible SIM card slot, separate USB host and device ports, integrated speaker and mike as well as audio in/out jacks and a 12-key keypad. Options include a factory installed barcode reader.

While Windows CE 6.0 is preinstalled, the PXA320 is already a subject of research by the OpenPXA hacking project. The Eurotech site also makes reference elsewhere to their support for Linux 2.6, and has a dedicated Linux support page.

While we couldn’t find a price for this unit, its wireless capabilities and apparent Linux compatibility give it high hackability potential.

Solar powered Arduino sun tracker

Solar panels, hot glue, old CDs, an Arduino, a servo, resistors and LDRs, that’s what luwe1 used to build this solar tracker. He had some little solar panels laying around and wanted to see if they would power the Arduino. They did. So, I wanted to see if I could make a sun tracking circuit to autonomously follow the sun throughout the day. Here is the result, including the schematic and Arduino code.

FEZ Mini .NET ARM development board

TinyCLR is the newest designer to release a project through Seeed Studio:

FEZ Mini is a tiny board running Microsoft .NET Micro Framework. This means you can write code with much more efficiency using the C# programming language under free Microsoft Visual C# express. The pinout is BasicStamp2 compatible. Includes USB cable. Many libraries are already included like FAT file system on SD cards, threading, UART, SPI, I2C, GPIO, PWM, ADC, DAC and many more.

Available for sale soon here.

DEV.BO MSP430F5510 dev board

Nicholas J. Conn of NJC’sMSP430 Launchpad wanted to design a small footprint dev board based on the new MSP430F5510 from TI. His finished product which he calls the DEV.BO appears above. Features include a max clock speed of 25MHz, integrated 32kHz crystal, 25K of flash memory, 1 USCI_A (UART/LIN/IrDA/SPI), 1 USCI_B (I2C/SPI), a 10-bit SAR ADC and more. The DEV.BO connects easily to the original Launchpad for programming. The small footprint comes at a price, however, as the 48-pin 5510 has less memory and a less precise ADC. Right now the project is in the prototype stage, and NJC wants to try one more version before he commences sales.

STATUS UPDATE: Bus Blaster v2

We’re trying a new Monday post with status updates on new projects currently in production. This will cover project development, and gritty details like last minutes changes and production problems.

Bus Blaster v2 is going to rock! The design is so flexible and fun, we can’t believe it wasn’t the standard FT2232 JTAG debugger design already. It’s a JTAG debugger that can clone many other debuggers, and it’s an all-in-one CPLD development board. And it’s cheap!

V1 had a bunch of expensive logic chips that set the design in stone. V2 has a reprogrammable logic chip (CPLD) that can be updated on the fly. Have an app that’s only compatible with a simple JTAGkey debugger? Program the JTAGkey buffer logic. Want to try the proposed Serial Wide Debug support in OpenOCD and urJTAG? Program the KT-link buffer.

A patch that supports v2’s self-programming feature was accepted by urJTAG and will be included in the next release. Until then, we have a patched nightly compile that can be used to switch buffer logic.

The Bus Blaster v2 was first delayed when it didn’t make the last production before the Chinese Spring holiday, and further because of a last-minute PCB revision to remove the defective target present LED. Most recently it was delayed due to a driver problem on the manufacturing test computer.

Bus Blaster v2 is back on track and due any day. We’ll follow up later this week with solid details when we hear more.

Next project to drop: the CPLD development boards are listed and should be in stock tomorrow.

Microchip expands 8-bit PIC® microcontroller lineup with new 20-pin chips

Microchip Technology Inc., today announced an expansion of its existing 28-/40-pin PIC16F72X microcontroller (MCU) family with two new 20-pin devices—the PIC16F(LF)720 and PIC16F(LF)721.

The new MCUs feature low power consumption, making them suitable for various low-power and battery-powered applications. These MCUs offer up to 7 KB of self-write Flash program memory, a temperature-indicator module, an 8-bit Analog-to-Digital Converter (ADC), a capture/compare PWM module, and various serial communication peripherals, such as I2C™, SPI and AUSART. The highly-integrated MCUs enable engineers to reduce board size, component count and overall cost for a variety of applications in the appliance (e.g. blenders, refrigerators, dishwashers); consumer/home electronic (e.g. TV remote controls, toys, phones, set-top boxes); industrial (e.g. digital water heaters, security systems, humidity sensors); and automotive (remote lock systems, power seats, level sensors, lighting control) markets, among others.

The chips are available in a 20-pin, 4 mm x 4 mm QFN package, as well as 20-pin PDIP, SOIC and SSOP packages. Samples are available from Microchip.

The full press release can be viewed here.

True RMS explaned

Not everyone understands how multimeters measure RMS voltage. Doug Criner has put a good explanation.

Can there be more than one RMS value of a voltage waveform, but only one of them is true?  Apparently so.To use simple Ohm’s law and power calculations for a periodic waveform, we must know its RMS, or root-mean-square value–which is the effective power-producing value.  For a sinusoidal waveform, the RMS value is equal to the peak voltage divided by √2.  What we call 120-VAC power is the RMS value of a sinusoid with positive and negative peaks of 170 V.

Free PCB Sunday: xQFP breakouts

We go through a lot of prototype PCBs, and end up with lots of extras that we’ll never use. Every Sunday we give away a few PCBs from one of our past or future projects, or a related prototype. Our PCBs are made through Seeed Studio’s Fusion board service.

This week we’re giving away two PCBs for our new xQFP breakout board. Prototype with QFP size surface mount chips. Currently available in 0.50mm, 0.65mm, and 0.80mm. If you’d like a PCB just ask for one in the comments – and please specify the size.

Available in 0.50mm, 0.65mm, and 0.80mm for $3, read about the design on the wiki.

Continue reading “Free PCB Sunday: xQFP breakouts”

Android as a user interface to hardware projects

Mario Böhmer at Dev-O-Rama wanted to access data from his web enabled embedded HTLPSensorNode Arduino project using his Android phone. He decided to use the Barcode Scanner app instead of a more traditional approach in order to add an artistic angle.

Mario describes the theory he employed to build an Android app which takes the reading from a QR barcode and uses it to generate a web request to the Arduino project, which responds with data. The Android app would then initiate actions on the user’s device based upon the received data and individual parameters. He envisions this sequence being useful in other areas, such as for attendees to use their Android device to interface with projects at a tech or art festival. We’d really like to see the completed Arduino and Android code on this!

Hard and soft iron magnetic compensation explained

Developers frequently use magnetic sensors in consumer products, such as to provide compass and navigation services in portable devices. In theory these sensors can be read directly to provide direction data. In practice, however, it’s not always that easy to obtain accurate information.

In this article, Mike Stanley explains the scientific theory relating to hard and soft magnetic cores, and how their presence can effect the accuracy of magnetic sensors in embedded systems.

Via the Freescale blog.