Hardware Podcasts

Ep 250: Trains, RC Planes, and EEPROMS in Flames

Hackaday Podcast · 29 Dec 2023 · 46m · Episode 250

What this episode covers

Hosts Elliot and Al Williams discuss reverse engineering Polish locomotive firmware to uncover intentional sabotage by the manufacturer, who used geo-fencing and time-based triggers to brick trains servicing rivals. They review a 2023 tech obituary noting the decline of hardware products like Google Glass and XYZ Printing, emphasizing the need for killer applications. The episode highlights Cornell ECE 4760 student projects, including a parallel Raspberry Pi Pico cluster called Computron, and explores 3D printing techniques for stacking parts in the Z-axis. Finally, they examine acoustic bricks using Helmholtz resonators, the mechanics of sewing machines, and methods for testing EEPROM longevity through accelerated aging.

Most relevant to

makers and hobbyists

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
XYZ Printing, SpaceX, Singer
Products
Google Glass, Computron, B 1058
Chips
Raspberry Pi Pico, EEPROM
Also
Chaos Communication Congress, Redford Q3K, Mr. Tick, Cornell ECE 4760, Lou and Day

Related episodes from other shows

Other shows on the same ground, closest first.

  • Unnamed Reverse Engineering Podcast · 47m

    017 - Supercon 2018 Part 2

    Jen and Alvaro interview Sarah Petkus and Mark Koch, who discuss reverse engineering at the Blue Man Group and their projects like the Shibon suit and Solstice board. Rick Altherr details his work reverse engineering Xilinx FPGA bitstreams and automotive engine control protocols using tools like Hex Fiend. Ruth Grace Wong and Joe Rozner share experiences with firmware debugging and prototype failures, while Piotr Esden and Dominc Spill discuss the Black Magic Probe and HackRF One for wireless reverse engineering.

    Debugging & failure analysisEmbedded firmware
    14 chapters

  • Unnamed Reverse Engineering Podcast · 1h 09m

    004 - 0x0FF the Rails

    Micah Scott (scanlime) discusses her career in hardware reverse engineering, detailing her work at Sifteo on resource-constrained graphics engines and her recent 'Winchbot' project for her cat Tuco. She explains the mechanical design of the winch system and the complex process of reverse engineering a FeiyuTech gimbal's encrypted firmware using Sigrok and community assistance. Scott also reflects on her past projects like CoasterMelt and her preference for tools like IPython for interactive debugging.

    Debugging & failure analysisMicrocontrollers & dev platforms
    7 chapters

  • Embedded.fm · 1h 08m

    466: Attacked by a Goose on the Way to the Office

    Ralph Hempel, formerly Senior Manager of Firmware at the Lego Group and currently a staff firmware engineer at Edwards Fire and Safety, discusses the engineering and community hacking surrounding Lego Mindstorms. He details the reverse engineering of the original RCX brick, the transition to Linux-based NXT and EV3 systems, and the integration of MicroPython which led to the fan-created Pybricks firmware. Hempel also shares his experiences implementing Test-Driven Development (TDD) and automated CI/CD pipelines at Lego, while contrasting the safety-critical constraints of fire alarm systems with the playful openness of toys.

    Embedded firmwareDebugging & failure analysis
    8 chapters

  • Unnamed Reverse Engineering Podcast · 29m

    020 - Hardwear.io CTF Interviews

    Alvaro interviews Graziano and Antonius from the OpenToAll CTF team, Philippe Teuwen (Dogox) from Quarkslab, and Team Pineapple about the Hardwear.io CTF. The contestants discuss specific challenges including micro-soldering BGA chips, RFID/NFC brute-forcing, 3D-printed lock picking, and passive Tempest-style attacks on HDMI cables. Philippe Teuwen explains how Quarkslab designs these hardware-oriented challenges to demonstrate their reverse engineering capabilities to clients.

    Debugging & failure analysisPrototyping & iteration
    8 chapters

  • Unnamed Reverse Engineering Podcast · 1h 00m

    049 - Reversing Your Childhood One Game At a Time

    Security researcher James Chambers discusses his reverse engineering projects, including extracting firmware from a Logitech wireless keyboard using a Great FET and analyzing the letter system in the GameCube version of Animal Crossing using IDA Pro and the Dolphin emulator. He explains how he exploited a memory card feature to load custom NES ROMs and run code via DevKit Pro, and details the security mechanisms of Amiibo NFC tags using Proxmark3 and amiitool. Chambers also shares insights on console anti-piracy chips like the N64 CIC and recommends PCBite probes for hardware debugging.

    Debugging & failure analysisSecurity & privacy
    6 chapters

The summary, chapters and topics are generated from the episode’s audio by this directory, not written by Hackaday Podcast. The episode itself belongs to its publisher.