adafruit industries blog

Olfactory Sensors from Frogs

How do you give a robot a sharper sense of smell? By using genetically modified frog cells, according to Shoji Takeuchi, a bioengineer at the University of Tokyo in Japan.

Today’s electronic noses are not up to the job, he says. Although e-noses have been around for a while – and are used to sniff out rotten food in production lines – they lack accuracy.

Read more at New Scientist.

Filed under: robotics — by johngineer, posted September 2, 2010 at 10:21 am


Tools everyone should own

168187 Ts

Interesting list for homeowner types – Tools Everyone Should Own @ Yahoo / Popular Mechanics – post up your suggestions and tools in the comments!

Man is “weak in himself, and of small stature,” wrote 19th-century essayist Thomas Carlyle. Yet, with tools, “the granite mountain melts into light dust before him, seas are his smooth highway, winds and fire his un­wearying steeds.” And this from a guy who never felt a 5800-rpm circular saw scream to life in his hand.

While much has changed since Carlyle’s day, one thing hasn’t: We need tools to build, repair and maintain the mechanical world in which we live. With these tools, you’ll be ready for just about any project–whether it’s melting mountains or swapping out the kitchen sink.

Filed under: tools — by adafruit, posted at 10:00 am


Power laces!


Power laces! With an Adafruit shout out at the end (we’re guessing they’re using some OSHW gear from us). On a related note, we’re at an interesting intersection of retro/pop-culture and electronics. From costuming to making “future shoes” – learning electronics allows participation in modern mythology.

Filed under: projects — by adafruit, posted at 9:47 am


From the mailbag

 Adablog Wp-Content Uploads 2010 08 Adablog Wp-Content Uploads 2010 08 Adablog Wp-Content Uploads 2010 07 Letterswegetletters-1-1-1-11
It’s Thursday, time to reach in to the mailbag

Hi guys,

Just wanted to thank you and commend your efficiency in getting things around the other side of the world in record time. I ordered some gear late on a Friday afternoon, and it was on my desk in Australia by Wednesday morning.  Impressive!

Thanks again,
Scott

Filed under: random — by adafruit, posted at 8:28 am


TV-B-Gone and some fruit

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John took this great photo of a TV-B-Gone and some fruit!

Filed under: tvbgone — by adafruit, posted at 12:03 am


PRODUCT UPDATE – Adafruit ARDX – v1.0 Experimentation Kit for Arduino (v1.3)

Ardxv3 Lrg
This is an update to our popular Adafruit ARDX – v1.0 Experimentation Kit for Arduino. What’s new? Let’s take a look!

  • New! 5mm diffused tri-color (RGB) LED (x1)
  • New! Force Sensing Resistor (FSR) for detecting touch and squeezing
  • New! Manual with new project, FSR!
  • New! New breadboard overlay!
  • New! Now comes in a handy, sturdy cardboard box (previous version had a plastic box)

All at the same price as always!

Interested in making neat stuff with an Arduino but not sure where to start? This kit includes all the pieces needed to complete 11 different circuits, along with a experimenter’s guide booklet & breadboard layout sheets. Basically everything you need to be playing within minutes of its arrival. No soldering required!

Features:

  • 11 circuits to explore microcontroller basics. Covering LEDs, transistors, motors, integrated circuits, pushbuttons, variable resistors, photo resistors, temperature sensors & relays.
  • Comes with an Arduino Duemilanove prototyping bundle to make constructing your circuits and future projects easy.
  • Printed copy of the Arduino Experimenter’s Guide means no need to flip between on-screen windows.
  • Each circuit includes a layout sheet, eliminating guesswork when it comes to component placement.
  • Fully open source, meaning you can download and print additional circuit sheets, or download the component files and make your own circuits.
  • Help is only an e-mail away ( help@oomlout.com )
  • NEW – Cardboard box for storing! A plastic box is no longer included!

Includes:

Resources:

In stock and shipping now!



Top Ten Lost Technologies

Interesting Top 10 list over at toptenz.net about lost technologies, including my personal favorite, the Antikythera Mechanism. On a potentially sadder and more controversial note, what up the Apollo/Gemini thing?

Filed under: random — by johngineer, posted at 12:47 pm


Internet Explorer 6 is no longer supported on the adafruit sites…

Mw Ie6 01

Pt 10325

Less than 10% percent of the visitors here who use Internet Explorer, use Internet Explorer 6, while we’re not going to purposely add features that break anything in IE6 it is no longer supported on the adafruit sites… Here’s a bit of history to this famous browser -

Internet Explorer 6 (abbreviated as IE6) was the sixth major revision of Internet Explorer, a web browser developed by Microsoft for Windows operating systems. It was released on August 27, 2001, shortly after the completion of Windows XP.

It is the default browser shipped with Windows XP and Windows Server 2003, and was also made available for Windows NT 4.0, Windows 98, Windows 98 SE, Windows ME, and Windows 2000. IE6 SP1 is the last version of Internet Explorer available for Windows NT 4.0, Windows 98, Windows 98 SE, Windows ME, and Windows 2000. Although IE6 has now been superseded by newer versions of Internet Explorer, Microsoft still supports it in Windows XP SP3.

This version of Internet Explorer is widely derided for its security issues and lack of support for modern web standards, making frequent appearances in “worst tech products of all time” lists, with some publications labeling it as the “least secure software on the planet.” Because a substantial percentage of the web audience still uses the outdated browser, campaigns have been established to encourage users to upgrade to newer versions of Internet Explorer or switch to different browsers. Some websites have dropped support for IE6 entirely, most notable of which is Google dropping support in some of its services…

Filed under: random — by adafruit, posted at 12:16 pm


Google’s Earth

 Images 2010 09 01 Opinion 01Opedimg 01Opedimg-Popup

Interesting op-ed from William Gibson..

Science fiction never imagined Google, but it certainly imagined computers that would advise us what to do. HAL 9000, in “2001: A Space Odyssey,” will forever come to mind, his advice, we assume, eminently reliable — before his malfunction. But HAL was a discrete entity, a genie in a bottle, something we imagined owning or being assigned. Google is a distributed entity, a two-way membrane, a game-changing tool on the order of the equally handy flint hand ax, with which we chop our way through the very densest thickets of information. Google is all of those things, and a very large and powerful corporation to boot.

Filed under: random — by adafruit, posted at 12:05 pm


AVR programming trick: Sharing target boards

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AVR programming trick: Sharing target boards @ Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories

This week, Brad wrote in with an interesting question: Can you program the ATtiny25 on one of our ‘tiny2313 target boards? And the answer is yes: you can, with just a trivial modification.

Okay, back up– a little context here. The ATtiny25 and the ATtiny2313 are examples of AVR microcontrollers, the little brains that power many of our projects.

To program these chips, we use a usbtinyisp programmer, hooked up to a minimalist target board

Filed under: avr development — by adafruit, posted at 9:54 am


Smart Energy: How to Measure It, How to Manage It

Pt 10316

Tweet-a-watt got some slide action on EDN’s “Smart Energy: How to Measure It, How to Manage It”… – via Twitter.

Pt 10317

Smart Energy: How to Measure It, How to Manage It. Smart energy meters for the smart grid are just one example of how important it will be to measure power usage at the application. Alternative energy sources like solar and wind require power metering, and so do car charging ports for tomorrow electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids. In addition, server farms will need to be able power usage at the server rack level to accurately charge their customers for server power costs. All of these come back to smart energy ICs that can measure and communicate power usage. EDN technical editor Margery Conner will host a webinar panel discussion on August 24th featuring senior industry experts in key aspects of Smart Energy. PDF slides here.

Filed under: tweet-a-watt — by adafruit, posted at 12:00 am


Super Simple Arduino – Sylvia’s Super-Awesome Maker Show: Episode 03


This is how it’s done folks -

Sylvia builds two different super simple Arduino Projects: The “Randomly Influenced Finger Flute”, or R.I.F.F., and an Adjustable Strobe! For these easy projects, all you need are a computer, an arduino, and one or two other common parts. Super simple at it’s best.

Project 1: Super Simple Adjustable Strobe
http://tn42.com/strobe

Direct code link on github:
http://github.com/techninja/adjustabl…

Nate True’s Time Fountain:
http://cre.ations.net/creation/the-ti…

Video of the Time Fountain:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvY7NG…


Project 2: The R.I.F.F.
http://tn42.com/riff

Direct code link on github:
http://github.com/techninja/riff-lear…

Tinker.it’s soft-synth, Auduino:
http://code.google.com/p/tinkerit/wik…

Auduino – The Arduino synthesiser:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LKmtJ…

Music by The Wavers – Three Minutes to Escape [CC Sharealike v2.5]

Filed under: arduino — by adafruit, posted at 12:00 am


State of the fruit’ – AUGUST

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About 5 months ago we hit 1 million page views on adafruit.com (see post State of the ‘fruit 1m page views in February 2010 and our 50,000th order!). And this last month (August) we crept up to 1.27M. If we add ladyada.net we’re over 2.5 million page views a month now – we passed our 63,000th order and released a ton of new products. We had the most viewers ever on “Ask an Engineer” with Amanda “w0z” – August was a great month for us all around.

We don’t take advertising on our site (and never will) but we do like to measure what’s happening and we don’t mind sharing some of this information – thank you to everyone out there who reads our blog each day, supports us with their orders of open source hardware and contributes the great comments/forum posts here.

Filed under: random — by adafruit, posted at 12:00 am


Pull Requests 2.0 – GitHub

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Pull Requests 2.0 – GitHub….

GitHub launched with a simple pull request system on day one. You’ve used it to send 200 thousand pull requests in just over two years. Now we’re taking it to the next level with a re-imagined design and a slew of new tools that streamline the process of discussing, reviewing, and managing changes.

Filed under: random — by adafruit, posted August 31, 2010 at 9:56 pm


NEW PRODUCT – Midnight hacker, Leatherman Squirt ES4 (black)

Midnighthacker Lrg

The Adafruit “midnight hacker” is a Leatherman Squirt ES4 and a very handy, unique key-chain size multi-tool. The E4 sets you up with 20GA, 18GA, 16GA, 14GA and 12GA wire strippers and electrical wire cutters to handle all kinds of precise jobs. The gripping edges on the ES4’s spring-action pliers help you get a firm grasp on fuses, small cables, and many hard-to-reach items.

Midnighthackerclosed Lrg

Tools:

  • 420HC Clip Point Knife
  • Spring-action Needlenose Pliers
  • Medium Screwdriver
  • Flat/Phillips Screwdriver
  • Wood/Metal File
  • Wire Cutters
  • Wire Strippers: 20GA, 18GA, 16GA, 14GA, and 12GA
  • Scissors
  • Bottle Opener

Midnighthackerkey Lrg

Features:

  • Etched with our laser, says “midnight hacker”
  • Stainless Steel with Anodized Aluminum Handle Scales
  • Stainless Steel Body
  • Outside-accessible Tools
  • Key Ring Attachment
  • Available color: Black, dark, cold – like our heart
  • 25-year Warranty

Measurements:

  • 2.25 in | 5.72 cm (closed)
  • 1.9 oz | 56.4 g
  • 1.6 in | 4.06 cm (blade length)

In stock and shipping immediately!

Filed under: announce, tools — by adafruit, posted at 3:52 pm


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