Author Archives: engineerzero

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About engineerzero

Once and future engineer.

The Wizard from Earth

Posted on October 9, 2014 by engineerzero

My science fiction novel, The Wizard from Earth, is available on Amazon Kindle as an eBook. It’s selling for only 99 cents. If you don’t have a Kindle, you can still download the free Kindle Reader software, and read it … Continue reading →

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Kind of a resume

Posted on September 13, 2014 by engineerzero

I’m looking into tutoring again and thought it might be useful to list a few links that illustrate what I’ve done. I may not have done the right stuff, but I have done stuff. Arduino Park: Grisbot 2-obstacle course: Grisbot … Continue reading →

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Rocket Ship Freedom available for download

Posted on September 8, 2014 by engineerzero

Rocket Ship Freedom Rocket Ship Freedom is my YA novel about a teenager who gets an internship at a private rocket company and ends up going to the Moon, where he discovers a deadly mystery that threatens the survival of … Continue reading →

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Ultrasonic toggle switch

Posted on June 1, 2014 by engineerzero

This is an idea for using an ultrasonic distance sensor (aka ‘pinger’) as a toggle switch. I’ll show it first and then explain: As the hand approaches, the yellow light comes on to indicate that the switch is in aware … Continue reading →

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Debugging Touchless Technology

Posted on May 29, 2014 by engineerzero

The comment that I added to the previous post was not the full solution to having a row of touchless buttons, but it set me on the way. A second pinger IS necessary to discriminate against anomalous readings. In the … Continue reading →

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Touchless Technology with ultrasonic distance sensors

Posted on May 27, 2014 by engineerzero

The concept behind this circuit design is that you can press buttons without touching them. As your finger lowers to the tabletop, the yellow light will come on, indicating that you are on the correct approach. Farther down, the green … Continue reading →

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Touchless interface using pingers (set-up)

Posted on May 24, 2014 by engineerzero

I’m about midway in building this demo of touchless technology. The idea is that the user will be able to operate buttons without touching them. Confused? It will all make sense when I get this thing running in the next … Continue reading →

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Pingo: Ultrasonic Distance Sensor Game in Development

Posted on May 18, 2014 by engineerzero

This is the hardware for a game I’m developing that uses an ultrasonic distance sensor. The microcontroller (Arduino, natch) randomly generates distances and then commences a ‘random walk’ from Point A to B. You, the player, hold your hand above … Continue reading →

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Touchless Touchscreens: 3D Vision for phones (and computers)

Posted on May 16, 2014 by engineerzero

Imagine a ‘touchless touch screen’ for your smart phone. You hover your hand above the screen, and the phone detects the position and movement of your fingers so that you can ‘click’ and ‘swipe’ without actually having to contact the … Continue reading →

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Attracting Attention on the Moon

Posted on May 15, 2014 by engineerzero

This is the first billboard on the moon Putting a Sports Drink on the Moon Well, not exactly. Japanese soft drink maker Otsuka intends to send a can of ‘sweat powder’ to the Moon via one of Elon Musk’s Falcon … Continue reading →

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