Author Archives: engineerzero

Unknown's avatar

About engineerzero

Once and future engineer.

Mice Eating Watermelon!

Sammy and Sam Sam eating watermelon. Engineer bloggers are allowed to be off topic if it’s Sunday and if it’s cute.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

grisbug instamorph

On Friday morning the bathroom sink plugged up and while looking in the cabinet underneath for the snake, I spied a siphon clip that I had made with instamorph. How fortuitous! I had completely forgotten — Instamorph, of course! Just … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Grisbug: first concept

I’m sure everyone is familiar with hexbugs, which are selling for about $6. Well, I’m working on a design for a ‘grisbug’ which will aim for roughly the same price point but have expanded capabilities. I priced the ATTiny at … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , | Leave a comment

ATTiny Photocell/PWM demo

I wrote a little program and made a circuit for the ATTiny which enables a photocell to control an LED and a motor with pulse width modulation. Here’s the video: – And here’s the circuit diagram: And here’s the code … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

ATTiny 45/85 Pin Conventions for Arduino IDE Sketches

The main source for information on how to program the ATTiny using the Arduino IDE is found at the MIT High-Low Tech site. But I found the information on the pinouts rather opaque for the newbie (= me), so as … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Thirty Year Old Predictions

From the cover: “Robotics. Today, they build Fords and Toyotas; tomorrow they’ll vacuum your floors.” “Cable TV. Soon your set will bring hundreds of channels into your home. And you’ll talk back!” “Computers. Football or horse racing, politics or Wall … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Palpatine Pez Project (Incomplete)

This was an idea I had for Adafruit’s Six Second Video Challenge. I wanted to ‘upgrade’ a Pez dispenser to flash eyes and play music. Given how creepy red glowing eyes are, what better choice than an Emperor Palpatine Pez … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Grisbot Design Studies

Would grisbot look nicer if the battery was enclosed? I was hoping that I could cut down on the acrylic, but it doesn’t look that way.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Grisbot ‘light above’ demo

In the ‘light above’ mode, when a flashlight is brought close enough to exceed user-specified light intensity (a), the robot will turn in place. When the flashlight is brought close enough to exceed user-specified light intensity (b), the robot will … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Camelot 30K

Camelot 30K, by Robert L. Forward. Camelot 30K is a fascinating novel about a truly alien society of shrimp-like intelligent beings who live on an ice world far beyond the orbit of Pluto. If you like hard science fiction, you’ll … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , | Leave a comment