# Glass and Gongkai GSM - Unzymotic Ursidae Upbuilding

- Show: [The Amp Hour](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour)
- Published: 2015-01-22
- Length: 1h 14m
- Episode: 233
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2015-01-22-glass-and-gongkai-gsm-unzymotic-ursidae-upbuilding
- Listen: https://theamphour.com/233-glass-and-gongkai-gsm-unzymotic-ursidae-upbuilding/

## Summary

Chris Gammell of Contextual Electronics and Dave Jones of EEVblog discuss the shutdown of Google Glass, noting its pivot to industrial uses and the shift from TI OMAP to Intel Quark processors. They analyze the failure of early smartwatches due to battery constraints, arguing that future devices will act as dumb terminals for smartphones, and Gammell reveals his new project: a robotic cart for remote telepresence using a smartphone. The conversation also covers the Gongkai GSM project's reverse engineering of MediaTek chips, the high cost of Arduino GSM shields, and the recent bankruptcy of Radio Shack.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2015-01-22-glass-and-gongkai-gsm-unzymotic-ursidae-upbuilding#t=0) Introduction and Google Glass Shutdown
- [2:51](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2015-01-22-glass-and-gongkai-gsm-unzymotic-ursidae-upbuilding#t=171) Google Glass Industrial Uses and Future Tech
- [6:40](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2015-01-22-glass-and-gongkai-gsm-unzymotic-ursidae-upbuilding#t=400) Smartwatches, Battery Life, and Dumb Terminals
- [15:52](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2015-01-22-glass-and-gongkai-gsm-unzymotic-ursidae-upbuilding#t=952) Contextual Electronics: Robotic Telepresence Cart
- [23:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2015-01-22-glass-and-gongkai-gsm-unzymotic-ursidae-upbuilding#t=1380) Gongkai GSM and MediaTek Reverse Engineering
- [31:23](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2015-01-22-glass-and-gongkai-gsm-unzymotic-ursidae-upbuilding#t=1883) Dave Jones' GSM Shield Development Nightmare
- [35:17](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2015-01-22-glass-and-gongkai-gsm-unzymotic-ursidae-upbuilding#t=2117) Space Exploration: Mars, SpaceX, and RTGs
- [50:44](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2015-01-22-glass-and-gongkai-gsm-unzymotic-ursidae-upbuilding#t=3044) Engineering Intuition, Mantras, and Education
- [58:29](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2015-01-22-glass-and-gongkai-gsm-unzymotic-ursidae-upbuilding#t=3509) PCB Milling Machines and Bluetooth Sniffers
- [1:08:23](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2015-01-22-glass-and-gongkai-gsm-unzymotic-ursidae-upbuilding#t=4103) Radio Shack Bankruptcy and Retail Landscape

## Topics

- [PCB design & layout](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/pcb-design)
- [Batteries & low-power design](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/batteries-and-low-power)
- [Microcontrollers & dev platforms](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/microcontrollers-and-platforms)
- [Connected products & IoT](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/connected-products-and-iot)
- [Careers & education](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/engineering-careers-and-education)
- [Retail, wholesale & distribution](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/retail-and-distribution)

## Most relevant to

early-stage companies

## Mentioned

- Google Glass (product)
- Nest (company)
- TI (company)
- Intel (company)
- BeagleBone (product)
- OMAP (chip)
- MediaTek (company)
- Arduino (product)
- Seeed Studio (company)
- Altium (company)
- Radio Shack (company)
- Adafruit (company)
- SparkFun (company)
- Digi-Key (company)
- Mouser (company)
- Nexus (product)
- Apple (company)
- SpaceX (company)
- NVIDIA (company)
- Volterra (company)
- LPKF (company)
- Circoid (product)
- Nordic (chip)
- RadioShack (company)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [Ep 139: Furter Burner, Glowing Potato Peeler, Hacked Smartwatch, and The Last Atlas](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hackaday-podcast/2021-10-08-ep-139-furter-burner-glowing-potato-peeler-hacked-smartwatch-and-the-last-atlas) (Hackaday Podcast)
- [Living With Technology | Hot Licks from Hot Chips | Oh, Shenandoah](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ee-times-current/2020-08-21-living-with-technology-hot-licks-from-hot-chips-oh-shenandoah) (EE Times Current)
- [Ep094: Fake Sun, Hacked Super Mario, Minimum Viable Smart Glasses, and 3D Printers Can't Do That](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hackaday-podcast/2020-11-20-ep094-fake-sun-hacked-super-mario-minimum-viable-smart-glasses-and-3d-printers-c) (Hackaday Podcast)
- [Ep017: Are Cheap Microcontrollers Worth It? Android on Your Bike. Plus Food Printers and Coffee Bots](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hackaday-podcast/2019-05-03-ep017-are-cheap-microcontrollers-worth-it-android-on-your-bike-plus-food-printer) (Hackaday Podcast)
- [EP 371: Space Computers, Spy Phones, and So Long CHU](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hackaday-podcast/2026-05-29-ep-371-space-computers-spy-phones-and-so-long-chu) (Hackaday Podcast)

## Citing this page

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