# Ep 218: Open Source AI, The Rescue of Salyut 7, The Homework Machine

- Show: [Hackaday Podcast](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hackaday-podcast)
- Published: 2023-05-12
- Length: 48m
- Episode: 218
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hackaday-podcast/2023-05-12-ep-218-open-source-ai-the-rescue-of-salyut-7-the-homework-machine
- Listen: https://hackaday.libsyn.com/ep-218-open-source-ai-the-rescue-of-salyut-7-the-homework-machine

## Summary

Hackaday Editor-in-Chief Elliot Williams and Kristina Panos discuss the rapid advancement of open source AI, highlighting how Meta's LLaMA model and the Open Assistant project are challenging the closed ecosystems of Google and OpenAI through community-driven improvements like low-rank adaptation. They review several hardware hacks, including a light-up breadboard using op-amps, Pepper's ghost holographic clocks, and a robotic 'homework machine' that mimics handwriting using a Core XY plotter and ChatGPT. The episode also covers the 1985 rescue of the Salyut 7 space station, the dyeing of PBT keycaps, and the technical challenges of autonomous vehicles in San Francisco.

## Chapters

- [0:02](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hackaday-podcast/2023-05-12-ep-218-open-source-ai-the-rescue-of-salyut-7-the-homework-machine#t=2) Introduction: Hackaday News, Supercon, and Prize Updates
- [4:09](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hackaday-podcast/2023-05-12-ep-218-open-source-ai-the-rescue-of-salyut-7-the-homework-machine#t=249) What's That Sound: The Coffee Percolator Mystery
- [8:09](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hackaday-podcast/2023-05-12-ep-218-open-source-ai-the-rescue-of-salyut-7-the-homework-machine#t=489) Open Source AI: LLaMA, Open Assistant, and the Google Leak
- [16:05](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hackaday-podcast/2023-05-12-ep-218-open-source-ai-the-rescue-of-salyut-7-the-homework-machine#t=965) Hardware Hacks: Light-up Breadboard, Holographic Clocks, and Homework Machine
- [23:27](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hackaday-podcast/2023-05-12-ep-218-open-source-ai-the-rescue-of-salyut-7-the-homework-machine#t=1407) The Rescue of Salyut 7: A Soviet Space Station Story
- [28:12](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hackaday-podcast/2023-05-12-ep-218-open-source-ai-the-rescue-of-salyut-7-the-homework-machine#t=1692) Quick Hacks: Dyeing Keycaps, Minimal USB, Magnetite Music, and CNC
- [34:16](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hackaday-podcast/2023-05-12-ep-218-open-source-ai-the-rescue-of-salyut-7-the-homework-machine#t=2056) Teardowns and Studies: Smart Sunglasses, Retro PC, and Thermal Password Theft
- [42:01](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hackaday-podcast/2023-05-12-ep-218-open-source-ai-the-rescue-of-salyut-7-the-homework-machine#t=2521) Campus Miss: Autonomous Vehicle Traffic Jams and Retro Car Record Players

## Topics

- [AI & machine learning](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/ai-and-machine-learning)
- [Mechanical engineering](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/mechanical-engineering)
- [PCB design & layout](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/pcb-design)
- [Robotics & autonomy](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/robotics-and-autonomy)
- [Materials & manufacturing processes](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/materials-and-processes)

## Most relevant to

makers and hobbyists

## Mentioned

- Meta (company)
- LLaMA (product)
- Open Assistant (product)
- Google (company)
- OpenAI (company)
- ChatGPT (product)
- Stable Diffusion (product)
- Rasmus 7 IO (company)
- Clever Optics (company)
- ESP32 (chip)
- Salyut 7 (product)
- Soyuz (product)
- Rain Band Stories (product)
- Becky Stern (other)
- University of Glasgow (company)
- Waymo (company)
- Cruise (company)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [Open Source LLMs with Simon Willison](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2024-01-17-open-source-llms-with-simon-willison) (Oxide and Friends)
- [OpenAI Goes Open Source and just dropped GPT 5 + Google's Interactive 3D World Generator](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/built-2-scale/2025-08-07-openai-goes-open-source-and-just-dropped-gpt-5-googles-interactive-3d-world-gene) (Built 2 Scale)
- [The Open Weight Revolution with Simon Willison](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2026-07-31-the-open-weight-revolution-with-simon-willison) (Oxide and Friends)
- [The Walmart Greeter of Electronics](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2026-09-18-the-walmart-greeter-of-electronics) (The Amp Hour)
- [502: Chat, J'ai Peté!](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2025-06-03-502-chat-jai-pete) (Embedded.fm)

## Citing this page

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