An ESP In Your Mini TV

June 28, 2023 by Jenny List 14 Comments

When miniature LCD TVs arrived on the market they were an object of desire, far from the reach of tech-obsessed youngsters. Now in the age of smartphones they’re a historical curiosity, but with the onward march of technology you can have one for not a lot. [Taylor Galbraith] shows us how, with an ESP32 and an LCD we rather like because of its CRT-like rounded corners.

What he’s created is essentially a small media player, but perhaps what makes it of further interest is its migration from a mess of wires on a breadboard to a rather nice PCB. He’s not released the board files at the time of writing, but since the software can all be found in the GitHub repository linked above, we live in hope. On it are not only the ESP and the screen, but also a battery management board, an audio amplifier, and a small speaker. For now it’s a bare board, but we hope he’ll complete it with a neatly designed case for either a pocket player or a retro-styled mini TV. Until then you can see his progress in the videos below the break.

If you’re after more ESP32 media player inspiration, this isn’t the first retro-themed media player we’ve brought you.

Continue reading “An ESP In Your Mini TV” →

Ventbot fans with 3D printed brackets and control circuit board with ESP32 breakout and multicolored 3D printed cases

Ventbots Are Fans Of HVAC And Home Automation

June 24, 2023 by Michael Shaub 21 Comments

[WJCarpenter] had a common HVAC problem; not all the rooms got to a comfortable temperature when the heater was working to warm up their home. As often happens with HVAC systems, the rooms farthest from the heat source and/or with less insulation needed a boost of heat in the winter and cooling in the summer too. While [WJCarpenter] is a self-reported software person, not a hardware person, you will enjoy going along on the journey to build some very capable vent boosters that require a mix of each.

There’s a great build log on hackaday.io here, but for those who need more of a proper set of instructions, there’s a step-by-step guide that should allow even a beginner hardware hacker to complete the project over on Instructables. There you’ll find everything you need to build ESPHome controlled, 3D printed, PC fan powered vent boosters. While they can be integrated into Home Assistant, we were interested to learn that ESPHome allows these to run stand-alone too, each using its own temperature and pressure sensor.

The many iterations of hardware and software show, resulting in thoughtful touches like a startup sequence that checks for several compatible temperature sensors and a board layout that accommodates different capacitor lead spacings. Along the way, [WJCarpenter] also graphed the noise level of different fans running at multiple speeds and the pressure sensor readings against the temperatures to see if they could be used as more reliable triggers for the fans. (spoiler, they weren’t) There are a bunch of other tips to find along the way, so we highly recommend going through all that [WJCarpenter] has shared if you want to build your own or just want some tips on how to convert a one-off project to something that a wider audience can adapt to their own needs.

See a video after the break that doesn’t show the whole project but includes footage of the start-up sequence that tests each fan’s tachometer and the customizable ramp-up and ramp-down settings. Continue reading “Ventbots Are Fans Of HVAC And Home Automation” →

Bringing Back The Minitel

June 19, 2023 by Bryan Cockfield 16 Comments

If you didn’t live in France in the 80s or 90s, it’s likely you missed out on one of the most successful computer networks in existence prior to the modern Internet. Known as Minitel, it was an online service available over existing phone lines that offered a connected computer terminal for users to do most things we associate with the modern world, such as booking travel, viewing news, looking up phone numbers, and plenty of other useful activities. While a lot of the original system was never archived, there are still some efforts to restore some of its original functionality like this MiniMit.

The build requires either an original or a recreation of a Minitel terminal in all its 80s glory, but pairs an ESP32 to support modern network connectivity. The ESP32 interfaces with the Minitel’s DIN socket and provides it with a translation layer between WiFi and the networking type that it would have originally expected to see from the telephone lines. Two of the original developers of Minitel are working on restoring some of the services that would have been available originally as well, which means that the entire system is being redeveloped and not just the original hardware.

We’ve mentioned that this system was first implemented in the 80s, but the surprising thing is that even well after broadband Internet would have been available to most people in France, the Minitel system still had widespread use, not being fully deactivated until 2012. They remain popular as inspiration for other projects as well, like this one which was brought a little more up-to-date with the help of a modern display and Raspberry Pi.

Modern Brownie Camera Talks SD And WiFi

June 11, 2023 by Al Williams 4 Comments

If you’re at all into nostalgic cameras, you’ve certainly seen the old Brownie from Kodak. They were everywhere, and feature an iconic look. [JGJMatt] couldn’t help but notice that you could easily find old ones at a good price, but finding and developing No. 117 film these days can be challenging. But thanks to a little 3D printing, you can install an ESP32 camera inside and wind up with a modern but retro-stylish camera. The new old camera will work with a memory card or send data over WiFi.

The Brownie dates back to 1900 and cost, initially, one dollar. Of course, a dollar back then is worth about $35 now, but still not astronomical. After cleaning up and tuning up an old specimen, it was time to fire up the 3D printer.

There are also mods to the camera to let it accept an M12 lens. There are many lenses of that size you can choose from. There are a few other gotchas, like extending the camera cable, but it looks like you could readily reproduce this project if you wanted one of your very own.

We’ve seen old cameras converted before. Or, you can just start from scratch.

Hackaday Prize 2023: Bluetooth Spell To Speak

June 6, 2023 by Matthew Carlson 1 Comment

Have you ever known what you wanted to say but couldn’t figure out exactly how to say it? For some individuals, that’s all the time. The gap between intention and action can be a massive chasm. [Pedro Martin] is trying to help bridge that gap with a Bluetooth RPM letterboard.

[Soma Mukhopadhyay] developed Rapid Prompting Method (RPM) for teachers to work with students with autism. Gentle physical cues can help individuals complete motor movements, which can be used as a communication mechanism by pointing to a letterboard. Students can eventually move onto an tablet, but some students see the light as sensory noise or might associate it with playtime.

[Pedro] hopes that his letterboard will be able to provide tactile feedback for each letter to strengthen the connection the teacher is trying to establish. The letter board is a 22 by 14 grid (308 total) of touch electrodes connected to three MPR121 12-channel capacitive touch sensors connected to an ESP32 via I2C. Additionally, 60 LEDS controlled by two shift registers are interspaced between the touch electrodes. As only one LED will be on at a given time, [Pedro] can use the shift registers in a row/column setup since the current draw should be small. A piezo buzzer serves as additional feedback for the student. The ESP32 emulates a Bluetooth keyboard, so the teacher doesn’t have to keep track of what the student is spelling and can focus on RPM.

[Pedro] encountered the usual slew of debugging problems, such as ground bouncing, captive noise, and Bluetooth wonkiness. The code, KiCad, and STL files are on the Hackaday.io project page. If you want more accessibility-focused keyboards, look at the RP2040-based Intellikeys we saw recently.

Continue reading “Hackaday Prize 2023: Bluetooth Spell To Speak” →

Hackaday Prize 2023: LASK4 Watches Those Finger Wiggles

June 2, 2023 by Matthew Carlson No comments

What do you get when you combine an ESP32-S2, a machine-learning model, some Hall effect sensors, and a grip exercise toy? [Turfptax] did just that and created LASK4. The four springs push down pistons with tiny magnets on them. Hall effect sensors determine the piston’s position, and since the springs are linear, the ESP32 can also estimate the force being applied on a given finger. This data is then streamed to a nearby computer over TCP. A small OLED screen shows the status, and a tidy 3D printed case creates a comfortable package.

So other than an excellent musical instrument, what is this good for? First, it creates well-labeled training data when combined with what is collected by the muscle sensor band we discussed previously. The muscle band measures various pressure sensors radially around the forearm. With just a few minutes of training data, the system can accurately predict finger movement using the random forest regression model.

What would you use it for? It’s considered a somatosensory device, so it can be used for physical therapy when undergoing hand rehabilitation, as it provides feedback during sessions. Or it could be used to train a controller efficiently.

It’s an exciting project on GitHub under an OpenCERN hardware license. The code is in MicroPython, and the PCB and STL files are included. We’re looking forward to seeing what else comes from the project. After the break, there’s a progress update video.

Continue reading “Hackaday Prize 2023: LASK4 Watches Those Finger Wiggles” →

Pretty Small Robot Is Capable, Nonetheless

May 30, 2023 by Lewin Day 5 Comments

When science fiction authors imagined robots in the 20th century, many of them were huge imposing steel automatons. [Shane]’s designs for the Pretty Small Robot are quite contrary to that, being tiny in stature and cute in affect .

The whole robot is an exploration in nifty engineering. It uses an easy clip-together structure with fasteners and glue not required. The chassis is 3D printed, with all the components sliding into place. Two small DC gearmotors are used for differential drive, with each side of the robot having a pair of wheels wrapped in a rubber band for traction. The brains of the robot is an ESP32, providing it with both plenty of processing power and good connectivity options. Control is over WiFI via MQTT.

At this stage the robot doesn’t do a whole lot, though [Shane] has some exciting plans. He’d like to add a camera in future and let it explore a maze under human command.

If you’ve ever wanted to build a robot with an almost coin-sized foot print, this build is for you. Files are available on GitHub for those wishing to dive deeper. Video after the break.

Continue reading “Pretty Small Robot Is Capable, Nonetheless” →