Category Archives: Uncategorized

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 →

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

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 →

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

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 →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Moby Digital now on Amazon

Posted on May 11, 2014 by engineerzero

Moby Digital Moby Digital is a novelette about a group of people who get caught in a VR simulation of the novel, Moby Dick. It’s up to an intrepid free-lance IT troubleshooter to rescue them. It first appeared in the … Continue reading →

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

TRIAC/Reed Switch Demo Circuit

Posted on May 7, 2014 by engineerzero

As you recall, I’m working on an electronic nonlethal mouse trap. To avoid wasting battery power, the mouse trap is in standby until the mouse pushes open the one-way door. I needed a circuit that would turn on when a … Continue reading →

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

Teleoperated robots on the Moon (and Amazon)

Posted on May 6, 2014 by engineerzero

My science fiction novelette, High Moon, was originally published in the May 2005 issue of Analog Science Fiction and Fact Magazine. Ten years later, I’ve learned how to upload stories to Amazon so that it can be read on Kindle … Continue reading →

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

Ultrasonic Pinger Game, Part I

Posted on May 3, 2014 by engineerzero

I’m working on this idea for a game which involves an ultrasonic distance sensor. The set-up is shown above. As you can see, it uses an Arduino for the prototyping but the goal is to transfer the programming over to … Continue reading →

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

How to turn on the electronic nonlethal mousetrap with a thyristor

Posted on April 27, 2014 by engineerzero

As you recall, I was working on a design for an electronic nonlethal mousetrap. Well, I was stumped as to how to turn it on. It wasn’t as easy as it sounds. There was a manual ON switch, but I … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Stuart Appreciates Education

Posted on April 20, 2014 by engineerzero

Easter is, above all else, a time of peace and joy toward rodents of all species and creeds. Hence I thought I’d show this photo of Stuart, my young apprentice mouse. Stuart may come to assist in the development of … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged | Leave a comment

Kids and rotary phones

Posted on March 3, 2014 by engineerzero

So why do kids want to live in the Harry Potter universe, where there are no phones at all and you communicate by writing letters carried by owls?

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , | 2 Comments