BeagleBone
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Eyes-on with Ninja Blocks 'home automation for hackers' (video)
Yet another Kickstarter success story is here on the Hardware Alley Floor at TechCrunch Disrupt. Ninja Blocks look a fair bit different than they used to, however -- the 3D-printed case has been traded up for something that looks a lot more like a final, saleable product. In fact, it looks a little like a router or an external hard drive, albeit one with color-changing ninja eyes. The company was also talking up the home automation possibilities of its platform a bit more than the straightforward sensor pitch. In a buzz phrase, the company is calling this "home automation for hackers." Using the Ninja Rules app, you can turn lights and appliances on and off, get alerts for things like your wash and monitor your home, without writing code -- of course, knowing how helps. The whole platform is extremely open to users, and inside the case, you'll find a Beagle Bone and Arduino board, both accessible by pulling at the handy "Hack Me" tag that hangs on its side. The base system will run you $199. More information can be found in a video after the break.%Gallery-187329%
UPenn's TitanArm exoskeleton prototype makes light work of heavy lifting (video)
It's no wonder people are interested in exoskeletons. Not only do they tap into our lust for the technology of science fiction movies, but among other applications, can make a significant impact on the lives of those living with disabilities. While many offer leg support, a team from University of Pennsylvania recently took silver in an engineering competition for its TitanArm prototype, a powered upper-body exoskeleton that, as the picture above shows, allows you to out-rep anyone at the gym. Designed to be lightweight and cheap to produce, the robotic bicep upgrade uses a (mostly) aluminum frame, battery-powered DC motor, cable drive system, racket braking and thumbstick controller for movement, with a BeagleBone board supervising the electronics that pull it all together. The group at UPenn imagines TitanArm could be employed as a lifting aid, but more importantly, in healthcare applications like increasing mobility or physical therapy -- sensors and other data from the exoskeleton could even allow docs to monitor patients remotely. More info on the project can be found at the source link, while a video below shows TitanArm in use and outlines the hardware that makes those heavy hammer curls a cinch.
BeagleBone Black packs 1GHz ARM CPU, 512MB RAM for just $45 (video)
The BeagleBone might be just the piece of kit for the DIY set itching to boot Linux in 10 seconds, but the freshly unveiled BeagleBone Black packs an even greater punch -- and the same speedy start times -- at just half the price of its predecessor. The $45 credit card-sized package totes a 1GHz ARM Cortex-A8 processor, 3D graphics accelerator, a pair of PRU 32-bit RISC CPUs, 2GB of built-in storage, a microSD slot and 512MB of RAM. Connectivity-wise, the canine-themed board carries support for USB, Ethernet, micro-HDMI and two 46 pin headers. Those pining for hardware flexibility can make use of the platform's existing "cape" hardware add-ons. Though it ships from Texas Instruments with Angstrom Linux on board, it's also tuned to support Android and Ubuntu, and arrives pre-loaded with the Cloud9 IDE. BeagleBone Black is already up for grabs in limited quantities, but it's expected to ship en masse by the end of May. Hit the second source link to start ordering, or head past the break for a video tour of the pint-sized computer.
BeagleBone gets plenty of expansion options with new 'cape' add-ons
Arduino has shields and now BeagleBone has capes. The Cortex A8-based hobbyist board has earned a number of fans for its speed and affordability. Now it's adding simple versatility with 20 expansion capes, ranging from touchscreens, to cameras and even weather stations. Some have been available for some time, but the latest -- the Camera Cape -- allows you to easily capture 3.1 megapixel images. Obviously, the perfect partner cape would be one of the several displays available, such as the seven-inch 800 x 480 resistive touchscreen. Really, they're essential if you hope to preview your photos before snapping them. To check out all the available boards hit up the source link, and check out the PR after the break.
DIY 'Descriptive Camera' captures images, prints out prose
Have you ever wished that cameras could capture not only an image of the scene in front of them, but also describe it to you in plain English? Ok, what if it bypassed the whole "photo" thing and just spit out a slip of paper with words on it? Well, if you're still interested, the impressive Matt Richardson (of Make fame) has a project right up your alley. The Descriptive Camera is a relatively simple device really. A Logitech webcam is connected to a BeagleBone dev board, which is in turn plugged into a thermal printer from Adafruit. Obviously, the tech required to analyze a scene recognize the objects then convert that pile of pixels into a slice prose is outside of the budget and capability of your average DIY project. So Matt turned instead to Mechanical Turk, Amazon's marketplace for HITs or Human Intelligence Tasks. Images captured by the cam are uploaded via the BeagleBone, where an actual person describes what he or she sees and the resulting literature is printed out. For more details and images check out the source.
BeagleBone board boots up XBMC Eden, shows off its media prowess
BeagleBoard isn't letting the Raspberry Pi steal all the glory in the battle for low-cost computing supremacy. The $35 ARM11-based Pi may win on price, but at least the BeagleBone can hold its own in terms of power. After the Model B was demoed pushing XBMC and AirPlay capabilities, some intrepid devs managed to get the second beta of Eden up and running on the ARM A8 dev board. The vid stutters a bit during playback but, overall, it's a respectable performance considering this is a CPU that would get laughed out of most modern smartphones. Head on after the break to see it in action.
BeagleBone offers up ARM A8 processor, Linux and 10-second boot for 89 bones
BeagleBoard has kept our collective news-tails wagging with plenty of (often disparate) DIY hardware projects. Now, the BeagleBone ($89) has arrived, with Linux Angstrom preinstalled, and power provided through a USB port. Giving the hardware more of a chew reveals Open GL ES 2.0, a microSD connector and two 46-pin female expansion headers for easy augmentation. There's also a 100Mbit Gigabit Ethernet connection on this new development platform, which promises to play nice with older BeagleBoard, er, boards. Serial (port) DIYers can check out a full run-down video after the break.
