{"id":6370,"date":"2016-01-28T11:49:40","date_gmt":"2016-01-28T17:49:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sector67.org\/blog\/?p=6370"},"modified":"2016-01-28T11:49:40","modified_gmt":"2016-01-28T17:49:40","slug":"january-monthly-meeting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sector67.org\/blog\/2016\/january-monthly-meeting\/","title":{"rendered":"January Monthly Meeting"},"content":{"rendered":"

Finally, Winter in Wisconsin!\u00a0The snow and 28-degree weather didn’t keep inquiring minds from attending this month’s meeting. January topics ranged from robot controllers to laser cut pinecones to tire pressure monitor hacks to building your own CNC router. \u00a0More info below!<\/p>\n<\/a>

EZ-B WiFi Robot Controller Demo<\/h3>\n

EJ, one of Sector’s business incubator residents, is a software engineer by<\/span> trade. \u00a0 EJ has been watching the progress being made on Jeff’s WALL-E and offered to share his expertise in controlling WALL-E’s robotic arms.<\/p>\n

\"IMG_9166\"\u00a0\u00a0\"IMG_9165\"<\/p>\n

In staying within his 7-minute presentation time, EJ\u00a0demonstrated\u00a0how quickly and easily the EZ-B WiFi Robot Controller<\/a>\u00a0(~$79)”black box” (actually white!) could be programmed using EZ builder\u00a0software<\/a>. Unlike an Arduino, the WiFi controller doesn’t need a physical connection to the computer running the software. \u00a0In addition, the programmed commands can be saved to the cloud and transferred to another device (i.e. iPad) for use. \"IMG_9169\"<\/p>\n

There were tons of “ooooos and ahhhhs” from the audience as EJ brought the robotic arm to life during the presentation. \u00a0Here’s a great video about the capabilities of the EZ-Builder software<\/a>, which include voice recognition, servo control, vision recognition and tracking and so much more.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/a>

Hi-Tech\u00a0Pine Cones<\/h3>\n

Inspired by nature and on a quest to create some unique holiday gifts, Kate set out to build a laser-cut pinecone. \u00a0Because she had some unique features in mind, Kate created her own design. \u00a0The final pattern consisted of twenty uniquely-shaped slices of wood, which when stacked would simulate the shape of a pinecone while also having the interior\u00a0space to hold a battery-operated votive candle.<\/p>\n

\"IMG_9172\"\u00a0\"IMG_9174\"<\/p>\n

After “many hours” of laser time, it took Kate “a long movie” to carefully stack and glue all of the slices in the correct order into the desired shape. \u00a0The result is\u00a0quite beautiful, don’t you think?<\/p>\n

\"IMG_9179\"\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\"IMG_9177\"<\/p>\n

Here’s a link to Kate’s full presentation<\/a> which includes some additional pictures and video of her project.<\/p>\n<\/a>

<\/h3>\n<\/a>

Using\u00a0SDR\u00a0technology for DIY\u00a0Tire Pressure\u00a0Monitoring<\/h3>\n

Doug’s presentation walked the audience through his quest to explore the use of SDR (Software-Defined Radio) to build a TPMS (Tire Pressure Monitoring System) for the new wheels he put on his truck that didn’t have enough rim spacing to fit the sensors on them. \u00a0Doug captured the signal on a TV tuner, and then used a SDR transmitter to create a radio dialogue with the TPMS to fool it into thinking the tires were all inflated properly. \u00a0Doug was able to successfully complete his mission, shared the results, and generated lots of interest from inquiring minds at the meeting. \u00a0The audience had lots of questions and Doug had all the answers! \u00a0All just to eliminate a chime when his truck was started and a light on the dash.<\/p>\n

For more information about SDR, try these resources:<\/p>\n