Choosing a wireless home automation protocol is a difficult subject to navigate for your average home owner. Each automated door lock or sensor must communicate using a protocol. These protocols may operate over powerline, RF or a combination of both. In this article, we will take a look at some of the common wireless home automationRead more
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Every 1st week of January, the new FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) game is unveiled. From the moment the game is released, teams have approximately 6 weeks to design, build and test a robot. After those 6 weeks end, teams will travel around the country to attend Regional competitions against other robotics teams. This year, theRead more
Every year, I try to volunteer at the VEX Robotics World Championship. This year I volunteered as a Field Technician. When the field or robots have trouble connecting or technical issues, I was there to help troubleshoot the problem. As an added bonus, a robotics team that I mentor called the DiscoBots also competed in the event.Read more
We are always on the lookout for an ARM-based microcontrollers with high-end sensors. A recent ARM Cortex evaluation board from ST Microelectronics features a 3-axis gyro, accelerometer, and compass modules for under $15. This STM32 F3 Discovery Kit and the sub-$15 price is jaw-dropping because in the (not-so-distant) past, this type of board would costRead more
Let’s go back in history to a time without global positioning systems (GPS) helping you navigate to your favorite sushi bar. Sometime around 2004, Qualcomm announced they successfully tested assisted GPS on a mobile phone after acquiring the technology from SnapTrack. Now, every mobile smart phone and device takes advantage of GPS. Let’s fast forwardRead more
Sparx Engineering is always looking at the the latest advances in 3D printing technology. Recently, the MakerBot team revealed the Replicator 2 as the “the best desktop 3D printer on the market”. Let’s take a closer at that statement and compare against other desktop 3D printers on the market. Resolution and volume are key to makingRead more