http://spectrum.ieee.org/energy/renewables/this-renewable-energy-source-is-swell

This article describes a very nice way of generating electricity from ocean movements by using long range swells and converting the rise and fall into wind energy for a turbine which does not need to be submerged. I like it!

I read often about augmented reality applications being developed. Some are available on the iPhone. It fires me up because I am working in this area, but I am focusing on actual computer vision for augmented reality. Most of the apps I have seen are only using GPS plus the compass to layer up some graphics on the camera view. What is needed is a lock with the real time image and that is the technology I have developed. Here is another article about AR on phones.

I’m really very keen on this ant robot. The designer has got the movements really nicely coordinated. If only it were combined with sensing and able to sequence its movements appropriately with the environment. Am I the only person who does not consider something a robot unless the emphasis is put on sensing the environment and reflexive real time behaviors? Anything else is just remote control or automata.

Here are some videos of the Gravity Bowl Burning Man art car project I was involved in a few years back. I designed most of the electronics. The project was to build a circular vehicle which could travel in any direction and had three computer-steered wheels.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yc00w1ngB8k

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpYfe1_gXgI&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=no0wL72kBkk&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujVwJevVU_U&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zX3NtwW7U4Q&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VhBPJoIUbGs&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ns8boJLROUc&feature=related

The project was almost successful but we had a lot of mechanical breakdowns and dust fouling the control panel switch contacts etc.

Whats particularly funny is this video of the Gravity Bowl drive motor at an early stage

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LF-kX3HiPGQ

generates tons of views on youtube. Everyone seems to think its some form of free energy anti-gravity motor, when its obviously a very short video of an electric motor driving a shaft.

http://spectrum.ieee.org/consumer-electronics/audiovideo/flexible-paper-speakers-on-the-way

Little Dog is the very creepy but cool legged robot being developed by Boston Dynamics. This video is interesting, especially in the middle where it is walking on the posts. Nice to see legged robots are being developed. It really feels like robots are taking their first tentative steps into reality.

This guy Jon Stanley does some really great vintage projects and I love his web site.

This page is interesting detailing Hewlett Packard frequency counters using vacuum tube and cold cathode tube based decade counters and divider chains. What is particularly interesting is that in order to decode the count from the vacuum tube flip flops, they use neon lights and associated light sensitive resistors which drive the nixie tube cathodes to ground.

Here is  a photo of the count register and one digit of the AE register displaying the result of the data entry on a nixie tube. The lights indicate which relays are on. This is actually in mid count so the lights are flashing pretty fast. Note the phone dial on the lower left.

Relay counter and nixie display

This page has is a great resource for information about calculators from long ago. In particular the section on the Anita desktop calulator is interesting to me using vacuum tubes, cold cathode tubes, nixies and a dekatron.