Hardware
Theremin
The theremin was invented nearly 100 years ago. This instrument captivated audiences worldwide when it was first demonstrated by its inventor, Lev Sergeivich Termen. Despite mainstream interest in the theremin had faded by 1938, the instrument remained popular amongst electronics enthusiasts and hobbyists alike. Fortunately, building a simple theremin is not an expensive enterprise; anyone with moderate electronics skills can build one for themselves. This article will demonstrate an analogue theremin that also incorporates a contact-less volume control feature, as seen on the original instrument. The theremin circuit performs quite well, considering the choice of components are of cheap variety, not to mention accessible. However, the design also leaves a lot of room for improvement—perhaps that will be revisited on another day.
24/05/2009 • Read More…
Micro Mouse Project
Imagine there is a large table that resembles a maze designed for a rodent. In front of you, there is a little robot, called the Micro Mouse. Your task is to equip this robot with the necessary hardware and software to give it some eyes (or ears if you like), and a brain necessary for navigating around the maze. We did just that, as part of our a third year Digital Systems project at Monash University. Details on how a robot, such as the Micro Mouse, can be rigged with ultrasonic sensors is presented here. The technology is surprisingly simple, although practical limitations can make ultrasonic sensing rather challenging.
20/10/2006 • Read More…