Get yer Dev Kit while its hot.
What technology does leapmotion use (is it imaging? a theramin?)
I'm not sure, but they promise uber-kinect like performance ; ie minority report handwaving;
but ultimately, if it creates a depth map at that size, shape, and cost ($80), it's a SLAM-dunk!
a theramin pronounced "booyawwahhaaeeeeeee'
3D Accel and 3D Gyro for as little as $5.42
http://www.mouser.com/stmicrolsm330dl/
DataSheet offers little in the way of gyro stability or frequency.
If you've used the Arduino enough to understand its shortcomings, or perhaps even dared to mention them alloud, be cheered, the gods have heard your prayers - and yes Omilex has been making devboards and breakouts long enough to be a god. This new Arduino Clone from Omilex addresses (almost) all of the complaints raised here and at Hackaday etc.. of the Arduino: with a host of pretty clever, if not always novel solutions. I'll count down the top 10 complaints again with fixes provided by the engineers at Omilex.
#10. Accidental resets - Re-introduce the Atmel recommended noise suppression - check.
#9. Analog sucks - Separate regulator for Analog, optional Vref for even more precision - check.
#8. Shields cover reset switch - move switch - check.
#7. Shields short out on USB connector - use mini usb check.
#6. Pin layout is Random - new set of .1 centered pins - check.
#5. Frequency dependencies - provide replaceable crystal - check
#5. Linear regulators suck - use proper regulator - check.
#4. Pin assignment is Random - group power and signal together in Uext connector for GPS, ZIGBEE, I2C, etc...
#3. Power wire in a portable world - add lithium charger and auto switching - check.
#2. 5v in a 3v volt world - provide 5v/3.3v switch.
#1. Battery life sucks - lose the firestarter and add real ULP Voltage regulators - check.
And this is the short list, add real time clock support, 4 mounting holes, and Industrial temperature components and the Olimexino is far and away the highest quality Arduino Board ever produced for $29 on Mouser.
http://search.digikey.com/scripts/DkSearch/dksus.dll?pname?site=us;lang=en;name=ATAVRSBIN1-ND
This is an interesting board - perhaps most interesting is the approach to driver-based sensors in the datasheets.
http://www.mouser.com/search/refine.aspx?Ntk=P_MarCom&Ntt=148736674
New at Mouser, This module needs an antenna.
Useful?
New 3 Axis Gyros....
multi-rate, 5 deg/s drift, ya da ya...
New Part on Mouser.
Airspeed sensor for about 30% the price?
For some reason, this weeks Electronics Goldmine flyer had only one dish on the menu: Geiger Counters. Would you like them in the rain or on a train? I have to say though, flying a Geiger Counter is a practical application for small UAV which cannot be accomplished by manned aircraft.
So Kudos in advance to anyone who orders this kit ($149) and logs the results of a fly-over.
This is a Current (And Airspeed) Sensor for $1.45.
I raised this question a while back, and was reminded again by the Post below which asks how to stuff all of this into a small box. (Beautiful Glider)
Small planes should remains a primal focus because they reduce the real and regulatory risks and allow broader participation in more fields/parks, etc...
So I'm offering a size reducing part - add a current sensor in exchange for the whole pitot/airpressure spaghetti.
The Airspeed theory is simple - at a given RPM, power consumption is proportional to airspeed, The faster the plane, the less the motor consumes to turn the prop. One can either detect the rpm, or determine that ESC's are essentially RPM = Throttle. Then a bit of data collecting will show the relationship.
http://www.goldmine-elec-products.com/prodinfo.asp?number=G16976
http://www.wsvn.com/news/articles/local/21003198189967/
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
In This Clip, Rachel Maddow flys an ARDrone herself. - It's used as a prop to discuss the Mexican Drone landing, and bleeds into other Drone topics. Be Scared apparently.
Bill Gates and Paul Allen moved to Albuquerque (~1975?) to write Software for the MITS Altair 8800, but 10 years earlier MITS cofounder Forest Mims III aka "god" in electronics hobbyist parlance, was working at this desk on sophisticated electronics for .... Drones.
Well, ok, maybe just model rockets, but hey this is 1966. Who would have though that a rocket launchable "Blinky" would have led to the Personal Computer revolution? Now I know why Nate is does his new product "launches" the MITS way: he's hoping some Mims Magic will rub off. Anyway, it's a great story, hiding away on an antique website. I just had to share:
In your comments please admit if you have a design housed in a circa 1966 Ray-o-Vac blue plastic flashlight (check). And if you hung out at the local radio shack memorizing the color wheel, waiting for the next edition of the Engineers Notebook while your schoolmates were hiding under the covers with a flashlight and contraband?
All kidding aside, you are probably looking at the first hobbyist autopilot: In this closeup, Mims describes a "Sun Tracking Guidance system."
As I have recently done some daydreaming on a solar tracker, I think I can explain how this might work, A single light sensor drives a solenoid on a rotating rocket, when the sensor rolls into the sun, it moves a pair of fins (or engine) which pushes the rocket towards the sun for a brief portion of its rotation. Over-correcting is probably an issue - imagine no PID?
It is suggested that the Blinky was invented to help debug the solar tracker, but the resultant article leads to the MITS company, the altair, Gates & Allen, and the rest, as they say....
Natural gas leaked out of a PG&E pipeline in San Bruno, CA, killing an unknown number. Clearly the Buried Natural Gas infrastructure is beginning to age. Only UAV's can reasonably fly low enough in neighborhoods to create a map of NG concentration. I heard on NPR that PG&E flies airplanes to inspect gaslines, but clearly not low or often enough.
Given that Methane sensors are light, cheap and readily available:
It's conceivable that Amateur UAV's could fly a pattern and log Methane levels against a GPS coordinate.
(Does anyone else think this could be a viable task for UAVs? and Why not propose a T3 contest in which mapping methane is the objective?)
on his Sunday CNN Show, Fareed Zakaria recommended this book and said it was relevant to the modern discussion of Ideas as Property (Patents). I should very much like to hear the perspective of DIY thinkers on the relative merits of Idea ownership, Idea sharing, and how they might reform the current Patent system. Is it still a tool for social mobility - and impetus for the Industrial revolution - as it was for Watts and his Steam engine - or has it been captured by static institutions in a way that precludes growth - especially from new entrants? Has the narrative of a man, a plan, a steam engine - become overwhelmed by patent sweatshops at MS and HP patenting the obvious and mundane, as a means of pulling up the ladder?
vs.
PCB Boards are Cool, but the Holy Grail for robotics are the Kapton Flex Circuits which are both wire and circuit in one.
Using This Material, I was able to CNC a single-sided SMD circuit which is thin and flexible - though not quite Kapton :-(
For lightweight circuits that fit into odd shapes (like fuselages), etc, this is a process that can't be beat. You could probably use a chemical etch, but the CNC does the routing and cutout with the same tool.
First Design in Eagle then export in PCB-GCODE. I used 20mil spacing in eagle and a 16mil tool in gcode with a 3mil default (offset). I glued the scissor-cut material to a thicker PCB with spray glue, then held it down with clamps. It is critical to get the working surface flat (which took time and error).
