Smart Assistants Need To Get Smarter

July 19, 2023 by Zoe Skyforest 81 Comments

Science fiction has regularly portrayed smart computer assistants in a fanciful way. HAL from 2001: A Space Odyssey and J.A.R.V.I.S. from the contemporary Iron Man films are both great examples. They’re erudite, wise, and capable of doing just about any reasonable task that is asked of them, short of opening the pod bay doors.

Cut back to reality, and you’ll only be disappointed at how useless most voice assistants are. It’s been twelve long years since Siri burst onto the scene, with Alexa and Google Assistant following years later. Despite years on the market, their capabilities remain limited and uninspiring. It’s time for voice assistants to level up.

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Crab Shells Massively Improve Zinc-Ion Batteries

July 18, 2023 by Zoe Skyforest 32 Comments

In the fast-moving world of battery research, scientists are constantly on the lookout for innovative materials with the right properties to help improve energy storage. Meanwhile, batteries are in greater demand than ever as production of EVs and renewable energy projects ramp up to new heights.

In the hunt for new and better battery materials, scientists found an unexpected hero: crab shells.Researchers at the University of Maryland have uncovered a remarkable breakthrough by exploring their use in battery production.

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Students 3D Print Low Cost Braille Keypad

July 14, 2023 by Zoe Skyforest 7 Comments

Numerical keypads are common entry devices for everything from home security systems to phones and more. Unfortunately, a great deal of them are difficult to use if you’re visually impaired. This high-contrast Braille keypad aims to solve those issues with simple design choices.

The keypad was developed as a school project by students [Nicholas Nguyen] and [Daniel Wang]. It uses a regular layout, with 1 at the top left and 9 at the bottom right. The keypad itself is 3D printed with large buttons for easier use. Each button has its numeral inlaid on the face which allows it to be easily filled in with paint for high-contrast readability.

The real neat feature, though, is that each individual button features its relevant number in Braille. The pips are directly 3D printed into the shape of each button. For those that familiar with the tactile writing system, this makes the keypad much easier to use. It obviates the need to guess at the keypad’s orientation, and we’re honestly surprised we don’t see this on more devices out in the wild.

We’ve featured a variety of neat Braille hacks over the years, including this neat tactile display.

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Sloth Door Greeter Uses Neat Fold-Up Electronics Enclosures

July 14, 2023 by Zoe Skyforest 3 Comments

[Alan Reiner] is building a sloth-like door greeter for his house. Sloxel, as he is affectionately known, can move around and even talk, with [Alan] using some nifty tricks in the design process

Sloxel’s job is to vet visitors to [Alan’s] house, before inviting them to knock on the door or to leave their details and go away. There’s still plenty of work to do on that functionality, which [Alan] plans to implement using ChatGPT. In the meantime, though, he’s been working hard on the hardware platform that will power Sloxel. A Raspberry Pi 3B+ is charged with running the show, including talking to the ChatGPT API and handling Sloxel’s motion along a linear rail with a number of stepper motors.

What we really love about this build, though, is the enclosure. [Alan] designed a housing for everything that can be 3D printed as a single part with print-in-place hinges. The four sides of the enclosure can then be folded up and into place with a minimum of fuss. Plus, the enclosure has plenty of nifty features that makes it easy to mount all the required hardware. It’s a neat design that we’d love to repurpose for some of our own projects.

We’ve seen other neat ideas in this area before, like using PCBs themselves as an enclosure. Video after the break.

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Orca Slicer Is The New Game In Town

July 13, 2023 by Zoe Skyforest 13 Comments

Slicers are the neat little tools that take your 3D models and turn them into G-code that your 3D printer can actually understand. They control the printing process down to the finest detail, and determine whether your prints are winners or binners. Orca Slicer is the new tool on the block, and [The Edge of Tech] took a look at what it can do.

The video explores the use of Orca Slicer with the Bambu Lab P1P and X1 Carbon. [The Edge of Tech] jumps into the feature set, noting the rich calibration tools that are built right into the software. They work with any printer, and they’re intended to help users get perfect prints time and time again, with less messy defects and print failures. It’s also set up out of the box for network printing and live updates, which is super useful for those with multiple printers and busy workflows. You can even watch camera feeds live in the app from duly equipped printers. It’s even got nifty features for calculating your filament cost per print.

If you’re not happy with your current slicer, give Orca Slicer a go. Let us know what you think in the comments. Video after the break.

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Awning Motorized And Automated To Avoid Wind Damage

July 13, 2023 by Zoe Skyforest 30 Comments

Awnings can be architecturally beautiful, and they provide lovely shelter from the sun and even a bit of rain. They don’t always like taking a pounding from high winds though. [Steve Carey] installed some nice awnings, but wanted to avoid any potential issues, so he built an automated system to extend and retract them for him.

An ESP32 serves as the brains of the operation. It’s set up to open and close the blinds using a high-torque brushed motor run by a BTS7960 motor driver. The motor turns the awning’s rod via a hook, so it can be readily removed in the event [Steve] moves house. Reed switches are used as end stops to ensure the motor stops when the awning is fully open or closed. The ESP32 is hooked up to an accelerometer mounted on the awning. It’s set up to sum the accelerations detected in all three axes, and close the awning in the event conditions get too windy.

There’s a certain peace of mind that comes with having your awning hooked up with a preventative safety system. We don’t have a lot of awning posts on Hackaday, but we have seen a good number of automated blinds in the past. If you’ve been working on your own outdoor home automation gear, be sure to hit up the tipsline! Happy…awnings…ing? Anyway.

Roboticized Zelda Ocarina Plays Itself

July 13, 2023 by Zoe Skyforest 10 Comments

[3DSage] has long been obsessed with a certain type of musical instrument after playing The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. It spawned a project to robotically control an ocarina, which turned out beautifully.

The first step was to build an air blower that could excite the ocarina into making noise. With that completed, [3D Sage] then 3D scanned an ocarina so he could design a mechanism that would fit the instrument and let it be played. The final design uses a set of solenoids with rubber caps to plug the various holes of the ocarina to play different notes. The solenoids are actuated according to notes pressed on a printed keyboard. Alternatively, it can be programmed to play pre-stored songs by itself.

The results are charming, though the ocarina does sound a little off-pitch. Overall, though, the project is a great use case for a 3D scanner, since the instrument itself is such an odd irregular shape.

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