Hackaday Podcast · 15 Mar 2019 · 53m
Hackaday editors Mike Szczys and Elliot Williams review the week's hacker projects, including a 12-channel LED spectrum mixer, an omni-wheeled pen plotter, and a Turing-complete system built from hospital nurse call devices. They analyze a paper claiming to fingerprint 3D printers, arguing the method is flawed because it ignores filament variability, and discuss NASA's engineering philosophy of over-specifying hardware for long mission lives, citing the Opportunity rover and Voyager probes. The episode also features a jargon quiz on 'astrictive robotic prehension' and a new '$50 Ham' column.
makers and hobbyists
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Hosts Christopher and Elecia White discuss their recent experiences judging the Hackaday Prize, highlighting finalists like the Ramen Spectrometer and Chip Whisperer, and review the rapid success of Darma Kickstarter campaign. They also cover the logistics challenges faced by Light Up and the upcoming Peep camera project, while critiquing the technical accuracy of the TV show Scorpion versus the novel The Martian.
Peter Griffin, a consultant at Slalom, discusses his journey into embedded systems and hardware design while building custom operant boxes and elevated zero mazes for his wife Gwen’s neuroscience lab. He details the mechanical engineering challenges of 3D printing, specifically dealing with tolerances and transitioning from Tinkercad to SolidWorks to ensure parts fit together reliably. Griffin also explains his strategy for making these devices accessible and reproducible through open-source designs and drop-shipping, while navigating the complexities of supply chain and manufacturing for non-standard components.
Hosts Elecia White and Christopher White discuss Christopher's recent experience fulfilling a Kickstarter order for vinyl records using BackerKit, and his ongoing technical struggles with reading CAN bus data from an automotive radar in Python on a NVIDIA Xavier. They also answer a series of career-focused questions about embedded systems, covering topics like debugging hardware, the importance of microarchitecture knowledge, and the frustrations of learning embedded programming. Finally, Elecia introduces TRIZ (Theory of Inventive Problem Solving) as a structured methodology for invention, illustrated by an example of filling liquid-filled chocolate bottles.
Hosts Elecia White and Christopher White discuss the value of show transcripts, compare NumPy and MATLAB for computational work, and detail Christopher's 3D printed Star Wars lightsaber and Elecia's Python-based origami seashell modeling. They also address listener questions regarding career transitions into embedded systems, emphasizing the importance of internships, open-source contributions, and building tangible projects like using Rust or Linux tools. The episode concludes with commentary on the hardware ecosystem, including ARM Macs and GPU shortages.
Hosts Elecia White and Christopher White discuss the intersection of science fiction and engineering inspiration, review Digilent's Analog Discovery 2 and Digital Discovery test equipment, and detail Christopher's experience building a QRP Labs Ultimate 3S ham radio kit for WSPR. They also cover Elecia's struggles with Ubuntu and the NVIDIA Jetson TX2, the choice of programming languages for embedded firmware, and Elecia's appearance on the Jennylyn Show.
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