Interview: Hanno Sander on Robotics

Posted on 2012/02/26 by C. J. Abate

I met Hanno Sander in 2008 at the Embedded Systems Conference in San Jose, CA. At the time, Hanno was at the Parallax booth demonstrating a Propeller-based, two-wheeled balancing robot. Several months later, we published an article he wrote about the project in issue March 2009. Today, Hanno runs HannoWare and works with school systems to improve youth education by focusing technological innovation in classrooms.

Hanno Sander at Work

The March issue of Circuit Cellar, which will hit newsstands soon, features an in-depth interview with Hanno. It’s an inspirational story for experienced and novice roboticists alike.

Here’s an excerpt from the interview:

HannoWare is my attempt to share my hobbies with others while keeping my kids fed and wife happy. It started with me simply selling software online but is now a business developing and selling software, hardware, and courseware directly and through distributors. I get a kick out of collaborating with top engineers on our projects and love hearing from customers about their success.

Our first product was the ViewPort development environment for the Parallax Propeller, which features both traditional tools like line-by-line stepping and breakpoints as well as real-time graphs of variables and pin I/O states to help developers debug their firmware. ViewPort has been used for applications ranging from creating a hobby Turing machine to calibrating a resolver for a 6-MW motor. 12Blocks is a visual programming language for hobby microcontrollers.

The drag-n-drop style of programming with customizable blocks makes it ideal for novice programmers. Like ViewPort, 12Blocks uses rich graphics to help programmers understand what’s going on inside the processor.

The ability to view and edit the underlying sourcecode simplifies transition to text languages like BASIC and C when appropriate. TBot is the result of an Internetonly collaboration with Chad George, a very talented roboticist. Our goal for the robot was to excel at typical robot challenges in its stock configuration while also allowing users to customize the platform to their needs. A full set of sensors and actuators accomplish the former while the metal frame, expansion ports, and software libraries satisfy the latter.

Click here to read the entire interview.

DIY Audio Design with Tymkrs

Posted on 2012/02/13 by C. J. Abate

With the growing popularity of embedded design kits and microcontroller-based platforms for rapid prototyping, it’s now easier and more affordable than ever for engineers, DIYers, musicians, audiophiles, and academics to customize electronics applications of their own. The March 2012 issue of audioXpress magazine will feature an interview with two DIYers—the duo behind Tymkrs.com—who do just that. “Atdiy” and “Whisker” provide details about Zombietech.tv, their design interests, and their recent projects. Here are some of their most interesting DIY designs:

SidCog Organ: Combine a programmable SID chip from the Commodore 64 and an old Hammond organ

Laser Audio Transmitter: Use a laser to transmit audio with a laser transmitter and a solar panel receiver

High-Impedance Preamplifier: A preamp designed with a JFET for loud and clean sound

Note: All photos courtesy of Tymkrs. The interview will appear in the March 2012 issue of audioXpress. audioXpress magazine (www.audioamateur.com), like Circuit Cellar, is an Elektor group publication.

Issue 259: An Interview with Chris Gammell

Posted on 2012/02/05 by C. J. Abate

In Circuit Cellar February 2012 (Issue 259), we feature a recent interview with Chris Gammell, the multitalented engineer who co-hosts The Amp Hour with Dave Jones. Chris tells us about his designs, workspace, podcasts, and much more. Here’s an excerpt:

NAN: What was the impetus for starting your radio show, The Amp Hour (www.theamphour.com) which you co-host with Dave Jones of the EEVblog?

CHRIS: I’m a member of the online community reddit, and actually an administrator of the ECE sub-group (http://reddit.com/r/ECE). Two years ago, there was a request on the site for podcasts and blogs featuring electronics, because the submitter wanted to learn more while in the car and on their bike. I tried a podcast by myself and it was dreadful. But once I posted it, Dave Jones happened to hear it and suggested we give it a shot together. We didn’t have much of a plan at first, just to get on the line and shoot the breeze for an hour or so. After the first two episodes, we began soliciting our listeners and Dave’s regular viewers for a name for the show. One of our listeners suggested “The Amp Hour” and it’s been roughly an hour-long show every week since. It’s one of my favorite times of the week and I’m so glad I have been able to continue doing the show, 70-some episodes later. If your readers haven’t had a chance to listen, I hope they will at some point in the future. I personally think the best time to listen to the show is on the way to or from work, or while sitting at your bench soldering.

NAN: Some recent Amp Hour interviewees included: Jeff Keyzer of the blog MightyOhm.com (December 2011); John Edmond, co-founder and director of Advanced Optoelectronics Technology at Cree (November 2011); and Joe Grand, president of Grand Idea Studio and a former member of the legendary hacker collective L0pht Heavy Industries (September 2011). How do you decide who to feature on the show? Can you tell us who has been your favorite or most memorable guest?

CHRIS: Your embedded programming readers out there undoubtedly know Jack Ganssle, who was a guest on our show. It was a ton of fun trading stories with him and hearing how the computer industry used to be driven by the demands of the… ahem…online adult industry. But really, all of our guests have been amazing. We choose guests who not only have interesting stories and work but also can chat about the weekly news and who enjoy electronics. I’m sure a couple of members of the Circuit Cellar audience will be in our sights as potential guests in the future!

To read the entire article, go to CC-Access.