Watching The Watchers: The State Of Space Surveillance

By now you’ve almost certainly heard about the recent release of a high-resolution satellite image showing the aftermath of Iran’s failed attempt to launch their Safir liquid fuel rocket. The geopolitical ramifications of Iran developing this type of ballistic missile technology is certainly a newsworthy story in its own right, …read more

Books You Should Read: Exact Constraint: Machine Design Using Kinematic Principles

Surely, if you’re reading this website you’ve teased the thought of building your own 3D printer. I certainly did. But from my years of repeated rebuilds of my homebrew laser cutter, I learned one thing: machine design is hard, and parts cost money. Rather than jump the gun and start …read more

Lambdas For C — Sort Of

A lot of programming languages these days feature lambda functions, or what I would be just as happy to call anonymous functions. Some people make a big deal out of these but the core idea is very simple. Sometimes you need a little snippet of code that you only need …read more

Why Ada Is The Language You Want To Be Programming Your Systems With

The Ada programming language was born in the mid-1970s, when the US Department of Defense (DoD) and the UK’s Ministry Of Defence sought to replace the hundreds of specialized programming languages used for the embedded computer systems that increasingly made up essential parts of military projects. Instead, Ada was designed …read more

Sensor Filters For Coders

Anybody interested in building their own robot, sending spacecraft to the moon, or launching inter-continental ballistic missiles should have at least some basic filter options in their toolkit, otherwise the robot will likely wobble about erratically and the missile will miss it’s target.

What is a filter anyway? In practical …read more

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Walking Arm Trebuchet Is Different, But Effective

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By Lewin Day | September 15, 2019

For many of us, our first encounter with the famous trebuchet was Age of Empires II, or perhaps a documentary on historical siege engines. However, many people continue to pursue builds of their very own, exploring designs new and old. The walking arm trebuchet is a good example, which uses …read more
Even Joke Torpedoes Are Pretty Hard To Get Right

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By Lewin Day | September 14, 2019

It’s rare that makers get involved in out-and-out munition production. It’s dangerous, and usually frowned upon by local authorities. That said, it can be fun to experiment around, and [Ivan] does just that, attempting to launch a 3D-printed torpedo from a kayak. The build may have been done as a …read more
Subaru Coils Make A Great HV Power Source

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By Lewin Day | September 14, 2019

High-voltage experimenters are a unique breed. They’re particularly adept at scrounging for parts in all kinds of places, and identifying how to put all manner of components to use in the service of the almighty arc. [Jay] is one such inventor, and recently came across a useful device from Subaru. …read more
AI Makes Hyperbolic Brain Hats A Reality

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By Jenny List | September 14, 2019

It isn’t often that the world of Hackaday intersects with the world of crafting, which is perhaps a shame because many of the skills and techniques of the two have significant overlap. Crochet for instance has rarely featured here, but that is about to change with [Janelle Shane]’s HAT3000 neural …read more
Analyzing Data To Build Better Surfboards

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By Lewin Day | September 14, 2019

In the world of surfing, the equipment available is as diverse and varied as the enthusiasts themselves. Different boards are optimized for different conditions and styles, and the industry continues to innovate towards ever greater performance. [DARK-labs] aim to bring data analysis into the field to help create boards personalised …read more
Cheap Sensors And An SDR Monitor Conditions In This Filament Drying Farm

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By Dan Maloney | September 14, 2019

We don’t know where [Scott M. Baker] calls home, but it must be a pretty humid place indeed. After all, he has invested quite a bit in fancy vacuum storage containers to keep his 3D-printer filament dry, with the result being this sensor-laden filament drying farm.

[Scott] wasn’t content to …read more
RCA Created Video Records Too Late

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By Al Williams | September 14, 2019

It is easy to find technology success stories: the PC, DVD, and cell phone are all well-documented tales. However, it is a little harder to find the stories behind the things that didn’t quite take off as planned. As the old saying goes, “success has many parents but failure is …read more