Embedded Computing Design

Supercapacitors can store a lot more electrical energy than normal capacitors, but there are a few important differences, however, that might make them a little less fearsome for your next project.

After considering the beauty and unreliability of the Clearwalker, along with the rather basic but reliable design of the StrandMaus, I decided to combine the two into the ?ClearCrawler.?

This board combines the NRF24L01+ wireless transceiver with the familiar form factor and programming paradigm of the Arduino Nano.

A technology that?s become ubiquitous over its 20 years of existence is Bluetooth. This mesh technology is specified to support up to a staggering 32,000 nodes per network.

If you need to develop an IoT application, a logical starting point is to obtain a dev board with wireless capabilities.

For a low-cost option that is small enough to be embedded in a project, then the Arduino Pro Mini ATmega328 board can be a great choice.

The CY8CPROTO-062-4343W PSoC 6 Wi-Fi and Bluetooth prototyping kit from Cypress Semiconductor has a different take on things.

After completing a recent build, I realized that I actually had come up with a tiny embeddable Arduino Nano package that I?ve used in several versions for very rapid prototyping.

I'd had my eyes open for components to use in the new design, and when Mellbell gave me one of their tiny HID-capable PICO boards, using it on a new custom controller came to mind almost immediately.

When set up correctly, these devices can produce precisely targeted computational power when needed, while still maintaining a low power budget.

RISC-V is an open instruction set computing architecture. It has its roots in academia, and is based on the RISC, or Reduced Instruction Set Computer paradigm.

You may wonder why wheels that roll at 90degrees to their traditional axis, and their 45 degree Mecanum cousins, aren't more commonly used in industry and high-end robotics. For one thing, they're expensive.

This development/evaluation board features Wi-Fi connectivity, an ATmega4808 processor, and an ATECC608A cryptographic co-processor to restrict data to authorized users and systems.

While Arduino compatible programming-wise, this board isn?t actually made by Arduino, and can instead be found on SparkFun in both a 3.3V and 5V variants.

If you?ve been using Arduino boards?or, more generally programming in the Arduino IDE?you already know the basics of programming in Processing.

This stack light is made with six polycarbonate disks surrounding RGBW LED strips. It?s powered by an Arduino Nano, and receives input from an electret microphone, as well as four DIP switches.

Earlier this year, Ikalogic sent me one of their IkaScope handheld WiFi oscilloscopes to try out. For this mini review, I?ll list the device?s characteristics first, and give my thoughts after.

This September I had the pleasure of attending the World Maker Faire in New York, where a wide variety of people, robots, and equipment come together to show off what they do and have made.

When working with dev boards, such as those made by Arduino and the like, working with hobby style servos is quite straightforward.

While I won?t go into specifics, on average I?ve been able to make what I consider a reasonable living writing about technology as well as the occasional engineering/DIY project. The key is average.