# Ep 143: More Magnesium Please, Robot Bicep Curls, Malamud's General Index, and Are You Down with EMC?

- Show: [Hackaday Podcast](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hackaday-podcast)
- Published: 2021-11-05
- Length: 52m
- Episode: 143
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hackaday-podcast/2021-11-05-ep-143-more-magnesium-please-robot-bicep-curls-malamuds-general-index-and-are-yo
- Listen: https://hackaday.libsyn.com/ep-143-more-magnesium-please-robot-bicep-curls-malamuds-general-index-and-are-you-down-with-emc

## Summary

Hackaday editors Mike Szczys and Elliot Williams discuss a week of hardware hacks, including a bio-inspired robot hand using fluidic actuators and an autonomous water-jet boat. They analyze Carl Malamud's General Index, a database of research paper n-grams designed to bypass paywalls, and review the Watchy open-source smartwatch ecosystem. The episode concludes with a deep dive into EMC design patterns for buck/boost converters and a discussion on the global magnesium shortage affecting aluminum production.

## Chapters

- [0:02](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hackaday-podcast/2021-11-05-ep-143-more-magnesium-please-robot-bicep-curls-malamuds-general-index-and-are-yo#t=2) Introduction: Hackaday Podcast and Remoticon Announcement
- [4:45](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hackaday-podcast/2021-11-05-ep-143-more-magnesium-please-robot-bicep-curls-malamuds-general-index-and-are-yo#t=285) Robot Hand: Bio-inspired Soft Robotics with Fluidic Actuators
- [7:22](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hackaday-podcast/2021-11-05-ep-143-more-magnesium-please-robot-bicep-curls-malamuds-general-index-and-are-yo#t=442) Autonomous Water Jet Boat: Thrust Vectoring and 3D Printing
- [13:02](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hackaday-podcast/2021-11-05-ep-143-more-magnesium-please-robot-bicep-curls-malamuds-general-index-and-are-yo#t=782) Cockpit Simulator: Modifying Toggle Switches with Electromagnets
- [15:58](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hackaday-podcast/2021-11-05-ep-143-more-magnesium-please-robot-bicep-curls-malamuds-general-index-and-are-yo#t=958) Malamud's General Index: N-gram Database and Scientific Access
- [24:24](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hackaday-podcast/2021-11-05-ep-143-more-magnesium-please-robot-bicep-curls-malamuds-general-index-and-are-yo#t=1464) Watchy Smartwatch: ESP32, E-Paper, and Open Source Hardware
- [27:34](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hackaday-podcast/2021-11-05-ep-143-more-magnesium-please-robot-bicep-curls-malamuds-general-index-and-are-yo#t=1654) EMC Tutorial: Hot Loops and Ferrite Probes in Power Electronics
- [34:38](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hackaday-podcast/2021-11-05-ep-143-more-magnesium-please-robot-bicep-curls-malamuds-general-index-and-are-yo#t=2078) Campus Articles: Pi Zero 2W Power Efficiency and Magnesium Shortage

## Topics

- [Mechanical engineering](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/mechanical-engineering)
- [PCB design & layout](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/pcb-design)
- [Microcontrollers & dev platforms](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/microcontrollers-and-platforms)
- [Sourcing & supply chain](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/sourcing-and-supply-chain)
- [Open-source hardware](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/open-source-hardware)

## Most relevant to

makers and hobbyists

## Mentioned

- Hackaday (company)
- Remoticon (other)
- Watchy (product)
- ESP32 (chip)
- Carl Malamud (other)
- General Index (other)
- Fez Electronics (company)
- Raspberry Pi (company)
- Pi Zero 2W (product)
- Pi 4 (product)
- Alcoa (company)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [Chaffered Chocolate Coemption](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2012-04-09-chaffered-chocolate-coemption) (The Amp Hour)
- [Three Hundred Down, Three Hundred To Go](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2016-05-27-three-hundred-down-three-hundred-to-go) (The Amp Hour)
- [Hacked E-Paper Price Tags, Raspberry Pi MCU Dev HAT, Arduino Robot Arm, and More!](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-electromaker-show/2023-01-18-hacked-e-paper-price-tags-raspberry-pi-mcu-dev-hat-arduino-robot-arm-and-more) (The Electromaker Show)
- [51. Recapping 2021](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-next-byte-podcast/2022-01-05-51-recapping-2021) (The Next Byte Podcast)
- [Pi Powered Jägermachine, Anti-tracking hardware, Trojans inside AVR bootloaders, and more!](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-electromaker-show/2022-10-03-pi-powered-jagermachine-anti-tracking-hardware-trojans-inside-avr-bootloaders-an) (The Electromaker Show)

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