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.
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.
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.
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!
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!
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?
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…
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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
Printable catalog (PDF)
