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Showing posts from January, 2013

Blue Sky "Doing"!

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Oh, we made it hot!!! In all seriousness though, we would most likely be considered second out of four. Not two shabby for two Mechanical Engineering students with no software background! Needless to say, the event was a success and I look forward to the next time I can lend my talents and ideas. I met new faces and Many, many movers and shakers in the Lincoln community. Hopefully some of these contacts can get an idea or two off the ground and into a nice start-up. Many Congratulations were to be had and even a few people seeking out advice for their firms projects. Fascinating stuff really. Here's to Blue Sky Doing, Cheers.

Blue Sky Dreaming Pt.2

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I think that a good way to start this one off is with a little story. Back in December of 2012 I had a little project with Christmas lights. Of course with any project there are fail, success, and "I wish I did this." moments. I failed in that the system was complicated and cumbersome. This was an easy fix with more funds to buy extension cords and maybe some wireless transmitters (see XBee). The success? It worked! I also only got electrocuted once. :P As for the innovative, great, and "I wish I did this." moment. There's no outlet on my porch and I had to leave my door cracked in the dead of winter. It was cold, Very cold. This got me thinking, INDUCTIVE CHARGING! I emphasize the idea because it was a little bit of a eureka moment. The Problem: No power outlet outside. The Boundary: Glass window. The Solution: Wireless Power Transmission So the design would be really simple actually. Two coils opposite each other with magnetics to hold the two plates i

Blue Sky Dreaming

Since it's impossible for me to have a new project everyday, I've decided to start what I like to call "Blue Sky Dreaming". This essentially is me rambling about cool ideas and thoughts that might get the mind ticking and possibilities flowing. However, Keep in mind that this is in all actually just being silly and throwing things out there into the cosmos. (Hence blue sky dreaming) I haven't been able to sleep well the past.. Week. I've decided that while I'm laying in bed maybe I'll "dream" of cool physics principles and applications of understood phenomina. I am not a physicist, but who cares. Call me out on it. Magnets, How do they work?! Let's get some basics with our friend Wikipedia . Ignore most of that and focus on the well know fact that magets can generate electric currents and electric currents can generate magnets. Exciting right? I was thinking about applications obviously. What would happen if we put two electromagnet

Keyboard Phewy

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Just got a new Keyboard mount for my tablet (The samsung 7.7). Hopefully with that I can start making some more posts on a more regular basis. The future looks bright that's for certain. On another note, Recently I have been involved in several projects of interest. The one being mentioned on this blog earlier has to do with hospital round optimization. This project might actually be in danger of being dropped. This is only due to time constraints and the fact that I can't program more than a pretty picture in  Java. Yes, like it or not, a Mechanical Engineers forte is not programming Java. That being said, I really do enjoy the IOIO project and overall idea of controling anything and everything with my android based device. The trouble is the overall complexity of programming it. I guess it's just "Easy for some, Hard for many". Other popular projects include some Finite element analysis on a rover project I am working in a group with. Simple stuff, quick an

Nook Simple Touch NST - IOIO for Android connected

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Could it be possible? Is it possible? Did it happen? Yes, Yes, and YES! I have successfully controlled a IOIO development board using the Nook Simple Touch. Sadly, it's pretty late in the day right now for me to get a video of the sample blink program uploaded. So you'll have to take my word for it till tomorrow. I can post how I managed to do it though. Hardware needed: Nook Simple touch + Charging cable IOIO for android board + Supporting hardware from Sparkfun 2gb or equivalent MicroSD Card Software needed: IOIO development stuffs -  https://github.com/ytai/ioio/wiki/Downloads Nook root stuffs -  http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2040351 Nook Google Apps Stuffs -  http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2086582 Apps from market: Search market -  https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=youten.redo.searchmarket ADB Toggle -  https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.adbdriver.adbtoggle Now this deve

Iron Man

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Buddy of mine posted this video to my Facebook time line: He also said, "Let's Make This." I promptly agreed... Now, time for an engineer/inventor's favorite part. Brainstorming. Seriously though, I need some thoughts and ideas. Movable Mask? Crazy LCD displays in mask? Light up power module (center of chest thingy)? Cool mechanical sounds? Articulating Armor? Let's blue sky this for a moment and dream... What would make an amazing Iron Man suit? Keep E-textiles in mind ;-)

Nook Simple Touch

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Got some big stuff going on with the future of Nook and USB hosting/slave. I've moved away from the typical Arduino and put in for a IOIO android board. It's rather interesting because it can work with much earlier versions of Android and doesn't require host support like the previous post does. Here's a sparkfun link to the IOIO board that I want and probably will be getting soon. https://www.sparkfun.com/products/10748? Now the project is a little top secret to those of you who are not so close in my design group. Basically though I'm going to try to root a Nook Simple Touch to run the IOIO. This should give me basic I/O, PWM, Analog in, and other fun stuff with full support of an E-Ink touch screen. The Nook simple touch of course can be found at Barnes and Noble. http://www.barnesandnoble.com/p/nook-simple-touch-barnes-noble/1102344735