Client Profile: Oscium
Oscium

Oscium 5909 NW Expressway, Suite 269 Oklahoma City, OK 73132 www.oscium.com Contact: Bryan Lee, bryan@oscium.com Product Information: The WiPry-Spectrum transforms an iPhone, an iPad, or an iPod into a 2.4-GHz spectrum analyzer. It is the first 2.4-GHz industrial, science, and … Continue reading

CC269: Break Through Designer’s Block
A heatsink epoxied atop the linear regulator on this Arduino MEGA board helped reduce the operating temperature to a comfortable level. This is certainly not recommended engineering practice, but it’s an acceptable hack. (Source: E. Nisley, CC269)

Are you experiencing designer’s block? Having a hard time starting a new project? You aren’t alone. After more than 11 months of designing and programming (which invariably involved numerous successes and failures), many engineers are simply spent. But don’t worry. … Continue reading

Q&A: Andrew Spitz (Co-Designer of the Arduino-Based Skube)
SkubeInside

Andrew Spitz is a Copenhagen, Denmark-based sound designer, interaction designer, programmer, and blogger studying toward a Master’s interaction design at the Copenhagen Institute of Interaction Design (CIID). Among his various innovative projects is the Arduino-based Skube music player, which is … Continue reading

DIY Internet-Enabled Home Control System
Photo 2: The completed board, which is based on a Renesas Electronics YRDKRX62N demonstration kit. (Photo courtesy of Michael Thomas)

Why shell out hundreds or thousands of dollars on various home control systems (HCS) when you have the skills and resources to build your own? You can design and implement sophisticated Internet-enabled systems with free tools and some careful planning. … Continue reading

DIY Solar-Powered, Gas-Detecting Mobile Robot
Take a look at the complete SOPHOCLES design.
The case for the optical gas sensors, consisting of the
multicolor LED and the TSL250 in front of the robot,
has been removed to give you a better view. The
CMOS camera is placed on top of the robot, and the
radio modem is hidden behind the camera so only the
antenna is visible. A flexible cable connects the camera
with the MSP430 microcontroller.

German engineer Jens Altenburg’s solar-powered hidden observing vehicle system (SOPHECLES) is an innovative gas-detecting mobile robot. When the Texas Instruments MSP430-based mobile robot detects noxious gas, it transmits a notification alert to a PC, Altenburg explains in his article, “SOPHOCLES: … Continue reading