Silicon hacking


Wired recently posted an article and video detailing our friend [Chris Tarnovsky]‘s process for hacking smart cards. In the video, [Chris] shows how he strips away physical components of the chips inside the smartcards using various gadgets and chemicals.

The first step is to remove the chip from its plastic frame. After soaking it in acid for about 10 minutes, … Read the rest

Robotic cats


It’s caturday, so let’s post some freaking cats. With a little research we found commercial, hobbyist, research, and cyborg cats.

First up is NeCoRo. Released in 2001, this is probably the most recognized commercial robot cat; renowned for its creepiness.… Read the rest

Nanobot nanosoccer

Medgadget recently published a post about a soccer competition for nanobots at RoboCup. The nanobots compete on a field that measures 1500 by 2500 micrometers with goals on the long sides jutting 500 micrometers out. Like normal soccer athletes, the nanobot teams attempt to push the ball – in this case, a silicon dioxide disc with a 50 micrometer … Read the rest

Digidash: digital dashboard for megasquirt


The Digidash project is an open source digital dashboard designed just for the megasquirt EFI system we mentioned in our diy EFI motorcycle post. Unfortunately, the site doesn’t link the hardware design. From the description, I’m assuming that it’s essentially a graphic LCD driven by an Atmel microcontroller that talks to the Megasquirt to get the display info.… Read the rest