Lego Self-adaptive Hand

self adaptive hand

I usually don’t feature LEGO projects because there is already a huge community and probably better places to get your LEGO info. That being said, I couldn’t pass this project up. It has an infrared sensor for detecting objects and only uses three pneumatic cylinders. The most interesting aspect of the hand is its underactuated fingers. The built in “mechanical intelligence” allows for shape adaptation even though there are fewer actuators than degrees of freedom. Don’t worry there’s a link to clear that last bit up.

[thanks ator1]

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Hackaday Lazy Afternoons

Lazy Afternoons

let’s talk defcon.

first off, the t-shirts were “delivered” yesterday. except they either:

A. got stolen within a one hour window of no one being home in my mother’s town which has like no crime.
B. UPS screwed up hardcore. probably true.
C. I dunno.

So UPS says they got delivered, but they didn’t. This is a huge problem. So most of today I’ll spend remedying the situation. Second, will you be at Defcon? Let us know. Come by and say hi to us, meet up, talk with us, and all. It’ll be Me, Eliot, Jason Calacanis (Weblogs Inc. co-founder/CEO), Phillip Torrone (hackaday creator), and Jason Striegel will be there as well. We’ll have t-shirts, stickers, and a very limited number of pins to give out. Bring your hacks too! We wanna see em!

Also, my flight to Vegas is Thursday and I’ll be getting there SUPER early at 10:30am I believe. Would anyone from the area want to meet up? Show me around? Go to Defcon registration with me? Let me know. Eliot doesn’t get in until 10pm I believe.

So needless to say, don’t expect the usual links until next week. Instead, expect post after post about Defcon. Yes, we will be using color pictures too. Don’t cry. We’ll be throwing a few contests too so you can score a hackaday prize pack.

So as I spend the final 24 hours packing, etc., keep an eye out for us in Vegas. We’ll be 0wning it. Trust us. We’ll throw a poll up too probably.

5 last minute links for ya’ll!
#1. Google maps again. This time, find cellphone towers.
#2. Microsoft be checkin…for yo’ pirated copy a windows fool. Sucks for a lot of us I’m sure.
#3. Homemade headphones. Just like mom makes em. [cyanoacry]
#4. This wi-fi light is incredibly awesome. I mean just look at it.
#5. Actual flying star wars ship models. Insane.

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Linux Home Automation

mister house
Mister House is a long standing open source home automation project. It’s written entirely in Perl and works on almost any platform. It also supports many different home automation devices like X10. Control is driven through a web interface and has voice feedback and recognition. Lots of extra modules have been developed for this project so you’re sure to find something unique: from voice announced caller ID, to GPS vehicle tracking over FRS.

[thanks Clu]

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HOW-TO: Create An On/off Box

The HOW-TO for today is up and you can go read it over at Engadget. It’s pretty rad for musicians or audiophiles

Also, congrats to reader [j guillory] for being the first with a great quality, MPG version of the All-American Rejects performance on Letterman. He’s won himself a prize pack with a t-shirt, stickers, and some buttons! Congrats! You can view the video here (if it’s still up). Great performance. All runners up (like 3 others) will get extra stickers and buttons in their next sticker SASE.

Also note I’m no longer giving out buttons. I have about 20 left that we need for Defcon. So sorry folks, stickers for now. Buttons will be re-ordered probably. We also will be selling t-shirts soon. Maybe even packs. Like a t-shirt, sticker pack, and a few buttons for a good price. Exciting eh? Go read the HOW-TO, watch the video, and sit back for Defcon. <3

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Home Theater Amplifier Cooling

nad

JT has written up how he modified his NAD T760 to run cooler. The goal is to extend the life of the components. The first test was to add an additional external fan. This is somewhat effective and because it is running at a lower voltage it isn’t that noisy. Not satisfied JT ventures inside and decides to modify the internal temperature sensor so that the built in fan turns on at a lower temp.  He makes sure to slow down the fan speed since it is now on when the amp is playing at lower volumes. The end result is a temperature only one degree above ambient.

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PSP External Controllers

psp controller

I usually don’t get to run PSP hacks as features because everyone else snatches them up so quick (Is anybody actually buying games?). XyTec found this hack to connect multiple controllers to the PSP. The project uses an ATMega8 microcontroller to monitor the controller’s state and then transmits that to the PSP’s IrDA port. There is a nice discussion of how the communication works. There’s a video demo of the controller being used to play Doom also. The project isn’t quite finished, but it does include source. Time for some two-player emulation.

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