NASA Spaceship And Mission Control Desk

Spaceship in bedroom

You have to watch this video of a homemade NASA spaceship and Mission Control desk, part of which is controlled by an Arduino.

The above video is featured in the June 26 "Making Fun: Kid’s Room Spacecraft" post on the Make magazine website. The Mission Control desk featured in the above video and Make post was highlighted in a February 19 Make post, "Making Fun: Mission Control Desk," and was explained in this video. If you liked the video and are interested in details of how Jeff built some of the parts, make sure to read the two posts linked above.

After watching that spaceship video, I was both inspired and embarrassed. Inspired by the awesome job Jeff Highsmith did of building the Mission Control desk for his sons, then later building a NASA spaceship thats linked to the Mission Control desk.

Control panel in spaceship

As someone interested in learning about microcontrollers (MCUs) and about building things with MCUs, I was very much inspired by the variety of switches, lights, controls and realistic panels on the amazing desk and spaceship that Jeff built for his sons. As an engineer I was also inspired when he said in the video, "I put in an iPhone dock for future expansion. For now it will just play video from NASA, but in the future I plan to have some homemade satellites to monitor." I dont know if he meant homemade satellites that hang from the ceiling of his sons room, or if he is figuring that in a few years, there will be civilian satellites and he plans to have one or several of those civilian satellites be his. Either way Im sure his expanded system will be cool, and his sons will have a great time with

Mission Control desk

the desk, the spaceship, the satellites and other additions Jeff and the boys make to their private space program. Can you imagine how much those two boys are going to know about electronics and building stuff by the time they reach high school!

Now to the embarrassing aspect of the Highsmith Space Program. Im a bit embarrassed I never made anything half as cool as that for my kids. Im also a bit embarrassed that the Humboldt Microcontrollers Group hasnt come up with a really unique and interesting project that four or more people want to put a bunch of knowledge and skill into that will make people who see it say, "Whoa, thats really awesome!"

There are a couple things that I want to do a little differently as a result of watching Jeff Highsmiths videos and reading his Make magazine posts about the Mission Control desk and the spaceship.

Payload bay remote camera monitor

The first thing to do differently with MCU projects is to think big while paying attention to details. Jeff appears to have had a big picture idea of what he wanted for his sons -- starting with a homework desk that can convert into a NASA Mission Control desk, then extending the space theme to his other sons bedroom with a spaceship. But what makes the desk and spaceship fantastic accomplishments is the close attention to the details. The control panels have complex and extremely realistic looking labels, switches, lights and controls. To make the experience authentic for his kids, Jeff incorporated recordings from NASA and simulations of actual astronaut problems. I realize the only way to tackle a large project is to break it down into small steps, but you have to have a good picture of what the large project will look like, and you have to pay attention to the small steps. When you know the big picture, and youre taking care of details, then commitment and perseverance have to kick in.

Mission status light panel

So, for the Humboldt Laser Harp and the Electronic Light Orchestra, the Humboldt Microcontrollers Group should discuss, agree on and document what the big picture is. How much time and effort do people want to put into that project. Next we should get more specific, more detailed on the finer points of what wed like the Humboldt Laser Harp to look like and to do from both a music and a lighting standpoint.

The second thing to do differently on MCU projects is taking more photos and videos at each stage of a project, planning ahead of time the shots to capture for each project. Jeffs videos have excellent documentation of building the desk and spaceship. I became less embarrassed but no less inspired when I read that Jeff is a full-time videographer. That explains thinking things out enough ahead of time that he captured cool construction sequences while he was building the projects. It would be really good if the Humboldt MCU group could find a videographer or two who are interested in MCUs and electronics and would like to participate in the groups activities. They would know how to capture the story of a project, and theyd be able to put together a cohesive and impressive video.

Ardunio used to control instrument panel

I think Ill keep a link to Jeffs spaceship video handy and watch that regularly to keep me inspired and to remind me of how rewarding completion of a big, complex project can be.

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Using Arduino For Mind Control

This isnt a post about using a microcontroller (MCU) to control someones mind -- its a post about how to use an Arduino device that lets you use your brainwaves to manipulate inanimate objects.

OpenBCI prototype called "Frankenboard"

Heres how the August 11 article "Building Mind-Controlled Gadgets Just Got Easier" from IEEE.org explains this new brain-computer interface (BCI).

"Their system enables DIYers to use brain waves to control anything they can hack—a video game, a robot, you name it. “It feels like there’s going to be a surge,” says Russomanno. “The floodgates are about to open.” And since their technology is open source, the creators hope hackers will also help improve the BCI itself. Their OpenBCI system makes sense of an electroencephalograph (EEG), signal, a general measure of electrical activity in the brain captured via electrodes on the scalp. The fundamental hardware component is a relatively new chip from Texas Instruments, which takes in analog data from up to eight electrodes and converts it to a digital signal. Russomanno and Murphy used the chip and an Arduino board to create OpenBCI, which essentially amplifies the brain signal and sends it via Bluetooth to a computer for processing."

Current OpenBCI board

One nice aspect of Arduino is that its getting more and more people who arent electronics experts, computer programmers or engineers involved with physical computing. The IEEE article says they are "artists who met at Parsons the New School for Design." In the Humboldt Microcontrollers Group, there is a forester, a biologist, and an artist. And wed love to have more non-engineers and others whose main experience and training is not in the field of electronics. The Arduino movement seems to encourage a whole new spectrum of people to see how they can apply MCUs and other modern electronics to their particular field of interest.

I havent quite figured out if I think OpenBCI will be around for the foreseeable future. They seem relatively legitimate, but their website appears to be either very new or not a high priority for the founders of OpenBCI. Quite a few of the webpages on the site say Under Construction. Even the Getting Started page says its under construction. But IEEE is a pretty reputable organization, and I dont think theyd have published the article if they werent comfortable that the project was legitimate. Overall, though, it appears youll get the OpenBCI hardware if you want to spend the $399 on either the 8-bit or 32-bit board kits. They also have a GitHub site that contains "the core OpenBCI hardware and software frameworks."

In addition to the IEEE August 2014 article about OpenBCI, there were a number of articles in early 2014 when OpenBCI did a successful Kickstarter campaign, getting more than twice their original goal of $100,000. Wired did an article in January 2014 titled, "These Guys Are Creating a Brain Scanner You Can Print Out at Home." The article featured a 3D printed brain scanner headset that they called the Spider Claw 3000. Heres the articles description of the brain scanner:

"Spider Claw 3000" 3D printed brain scanner

"It includes sensors and a mini-computer that plugs into sensors on a black skull-grabbing piece of plastic called the “Spider Claw 3000,” which you print out on a 3-D printer. Put it all together, and it operates as a low-cost electroencephalography (EEG) brainwave scanner that connects to your PC...You can target up to 64 locations on the scalp with a maximum of 16 electrodes at a time."

The $399 starting price for the OpenBCI is too steep for my budget, but Im sure there will be some pretty interesting developments with this equipment in the next few years. The IEEE article mentions three projects:

"Audette, the engineer from Creare, is already hacking robotic “battle spiders” that are typically steered by remote control. Audette used an OpenBCI prototype to identify three distinct brain-wave patterns that he can reproduce at will, and he sent those signals to a battle spider to command it to turn left or right or to walk straight ahead. “The first time you get something to move with your brain, the satisfaction is pretty amazing,” Audette says...In Los Angeles, a group is using another prototype to give a paralyzed graffiti artist the ability to practice his craft

Chip Audette and brain-controlled Hex Bug battle spider (from IEEE)

again. The artist, Tempt One, was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s disease in 2003 and gradually progressed to the nightmarish “locked in” state. By 2010 he couldn’t move or speak and lay inert in a hospital bed—but with unimpaired consciousness, intellect, and creativity trapped inside his skull...They’re using OpenBCI to record the artist’s brain waves and are devising ways to use those brain waves to control the computer cursor so Tempt can sketch his designs on the screen...David Putrino, director of telemedicine and virtual rehabilitation at the Burke Rehabilitation Center, in White Plains, N.Y., says he’s comparing the open-source system to the $60,000 clinic-grade EEG devices he typically works with...Putrino hopes to use OpenBCI to build a low-cost EEG system that patients can take home from the hospital, and he imagines a host of applications. Stroke patients, for example, could use it to determine when their brains are most receptive to physical therapy, and Parkinson’s patients could use it to find the optimal time to take their medications."

I wonder what some imaginative teenagers who have a lot of time and energy on their hands will come up when they start hacking OpenBCI...

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Make Your Arduino Go Fast A Modern Go kart

Electric Arduino Go-kart (from Instructables)

As the Hackaday post "Electric Go-Cart Has Arduino Brains" says, most modern vehicles have lots of their functions controlled by computers (or microcontrollers / MCUs). The 2014 go-kart thats the subject of this post is truly a modern vehicle in that respect.

And...the go-kart will make your Arduino go pretty fast. In MPH, not GHz.

I first saw this go-kart mentioned on Google News in the Unocero article "Un Go-Cart eléctrico que usa Arduino," so if your native language is Spanish, you may want to read that version of this tech story. Google News is nice that way, because sometimes I see a non-English article that lets me know about a story Id not have read if it wasnt in English. Google Translate certainly is not perfect or even almost perfect, but it usually gives a usable version of the article, and you can do more Googling based on the Skynet-translated version of a non-native language article.

Steering wheel showing LCD screen (from Instructables)

It appears the source of the story about this Kartduino is the "Electric Arduino Go-kart" Instructable done by a 15-year old from California. The Instructables write-up presents some of the technology used to build the go-kart, but it cautions the reader that its not a complete guide to building the vehicle. Heres a taste of the write-up:

"The drive setup uses a Hobbywing Xerun 150A brushless electronic speed controller to control a Savox BSM5065 450Kv motor. Batteries are 3x zippy lithium polymer - 5 cells, 5000mah. The motor has two large fans I pulled out of an old computer for cooling, mounted right over the motor. The chain drive is a 1:10 overall ratio, using a 15 tooth on the motor chained to a 30 tooth on the jackshaft, and a 9 tooth from the jackshaft to a 45 tooth on the wheel. The tires are 10" diameter so at 20 volts the top speed is around 30 mph. The ESC is controlled via PWM from the arduino. A throttle potentiometer on the steering wheel controls this. Constant current is around 40-50A, and the batteries last around 30 minutes with an average speed of 10-15mph. It requires a small push to get started (really, the motor just has to be rotating) and accelerates extremely fast...This uses a sensorless brushless motor. They are not capable of starting under load. It may need a quick push before it can start. Dont try to start them under load. I already had one motor burn out because it stalled and the current burnt the coils insulation. Sensored motors overcome this problem."

Im sure if the Humboldt Microcontrollers Group ever wanted to build a similar kartduino, Ed and others in the group would have plenty of ideas and knowledge on how to improve the design, with sensored motors or an alternate solution to the sensorless brushless motors that burned out on the design shown in the Instructables.

Go-karts wooden electronics control box (from Instructables)

With regards to the MCU in this zippy little go-kart, the Hackaday post covers the different parts of the vehicle integrated with the Arduino.

"In addition to the throttle control, the Arduino is also responsible for other operational aspects of the vehicle. There are a bunch of LED lights that serve as headlights, tail lights, turn signals, brake lights and even one for a backup light. You may be wondering why an Arduino should be used to control something as simple as brake or headlights. [InverseCube] has programmed in some logic in the code that keeps the break lights on if the ESC brake function is enabled, if the throttle is below neutral or if the ESC enable switch is off. The headlights have 3 brightnesses, all controlled via PWM signal provided by the microcontroller. There is also an LCD display mounted to the center of the steering wheel. This too is controlled by the Arduino and displays the throttle value, status of the lights and the voltage of the battery."

An interesting alternative kartduino I ran across whilst doing research for this post is the

LOLrioKart (by MIT student)

LOLrioKart (see picture at left). This slightly-strange vehicle was created from a shopping cart by a Massachusetts Institute of Technology student. Might be handy for going on a quick trip to Wildberries or the Co-op for groceries.

Speaking of modern vehicles and the increasingly important roles played by MCUs in vehicles, maybe Ford, another vehicle manufacturer, a microcontroller manufacturer or an electronics distributor will in the future want to sponsor a Humboldt Microcontrollers Group project to design and build a modified version of Steve Salzmans vehicle, with upgrades that allow it to parallel park itself as well as generate and track all sorts of vehicle operation data. That will be a fun project!

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Makeblock YAAR!!

No, Makeblock is not a pirate microcontroller -- its yet another Arduino robot.

Makeblock Gold starter kit

The August 13 Tech In Asia article "This Chinese startup lets kids easily make and program their own robots" is sort of an update of one of the Arduino robot companies thats been around for a while. Theyre a Shenzhen company that did a very successful Kickstarter, ending up with over six times their original $30,000 funding goal. According to the Tech In Asia article:

"...Makeblock, a startup from Shenzhen, offers a cheaper, more practical approach. The company sells robotics kits for as little as US$120 and enterprise kits for up to US$500. Makeblock makes 200 different mechanical parts and growing, which can be programmed using either Arduino or Scratch – the latter is an MIT-developed drag-and-drop programming environment for kids to learn the fundamentals of coding. CEO Jasen Wang says kids can easily make their own toy robots, while more serious hobbyists and even professionals can create robots to be used for more practical applications. Once a robot is built, it can be controlled via mobile app..."

A Wired article from 2012 titled "Robotics Hacker Erects Open Source ‘Lego for Adults’" gives some of the backstory about Makeblock:

"Jasen Wang once bought a home robotics kit. He had studied aircraft design in college and spent years at an electrics engineering outfit, but he still found the instructions completely incomprehensible. And the pieces were flimsy. And after he broke two of them, he gave up entirely. The good news is that he resolved to create his own robotics kit that was actually worthy of the name. The result is Makeblock, a set of flexible components — including slots, wheels, timing belts, and motors — for building robotics...You can even integrate these components with Lego blocks, as well as open source Arduino circuit boards and various other motors and standard industrial parts. And all of Makeblock’s schematics are open source, meaning anyone can build compatible parts or try to improve upon the designs...the company has built a custom-designed servo because Wangs says the ones already on the market weren’t adequate for robotics. And he’s not entirely happy with the existing integration system, so the company is building a new electronic platform that uses modular, color-coded connectors to make it easier to attach circuit boards and sensors...The key to Makeblock’s combination of sturdiness and flexibility are the threaded slots made from aluminum. Wang hit upon the idea at his day job. Although he knew he wanted to build a better robotics kit, he had no idea how. One day, he was asked to learn more more about the production side of the business, so he was sent to the factory to be trained in assembly work. It was here that he came across an aluminum part with a threaded slot, enabling engineers to add screws or connectors anywhere on each piece."

A more recent 2013 article from Make magazine gives Makeblock kudos for the high quality

High quality aluminum parts

parts.

"Compared to t-slot aluminum beams, Makeblock is much more sophisticated. It has threaded grooves running along the length of the beams, bolt holes running parallel to the grooves, as well as threaded holes on the ends of the beams. You can really get a sense of these features in the photo to the right. While the beams are great, Makeblock has created an impressive array of additional parts. The wheels and treads are extremely robust. There’s a nice variety of connector plates."

The electronics kit for Arduino and Scratch is $99 and looks like a pretty good package (its just the electronics).

Electronics kit for Scratch and Arduino

It looks like Makeblock would be an excellent starting point for a person who wants to just build a robust robot and doesnt feel the need to cut and shape every part by hand. I dont think you have to worry about your Makeblock robot falling apart because you didnt cut components to just the right dimensions or werent an expert with a CNC router or a laser cutter.

Maybe Ill ask for a Makeblock kit for Christmas!

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