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The Engadget Interview: Ben Heck talks Raspberry Pi at Maker Faire (video)
It's really no surprise that we bumped into the legendary Ben Heck at Maker Faire Bay Area 2012. Still, he was kind enough to give us a few minutes of his time. We talked about the Raspberry Pi, robot luggage, portable 3D printers, pinball machines, pretzels and cheese curds -- oh my! Just take a look at our video interview and don't miss the outtakes at the end.
Hands-on with the MakerBot robot petting zoo at Maker Faire (video)
A robot petting zoo at Maker Faire Bay Area 2012? What could possibly go wrong? Nothing, actually. The kids loved it -- only the robots cowered in fear (of being sat on). MakerBot spent eight weeks building four different species of robots using its Replicator 3D printer -- wheelies (robot chickens), bubble bots, button bots and bumper bots. Judging by the crowds the event was a complete success. We caught up with Michael Curry of MakerBot who told us how the robot petting zoo came to be and walked us through some of the robot specifics -- designs that should appear on the company's Thingiverse website by the end of the week. Next stop: Maker Faire New York. Are you ready for an invasion of cute robots? Find out in our hands-on video after the break.%Gallery-155803%
Raspberry Pi hands-on and Eben Upton interview at Maker Faire (video)
Unless you've been hiding under a rock lately, we're pretty sure you've heard about the Raspberry Pi by now -- a $25 credit-card sized PC that brings ARM/Linux to the Arduino form factor. As a refresher, the system features a 700MHz Broadcom BCM2835 SoC with an ARM11 CPU, a Videocore 4 GPU (which handles HD H.264 video and OpenGL ES 2.0) and 256MB RAM. The board includes an SD card slot, HDMI output, composite video jack, 3.5mm audio socket, micro-USB power connector and GPIO header. Model A ($25) comes with one USB port, while Model B ($35) provides two USB ports and a 100BaseT Ethernet socket. Debian is recommended, but Raspberry Pi can run most ARM-compatible 32-bit OSes. This past weekend at Maker Faire Bay Area 2012 we ran into Eben Upton, Executive Director of the Raspberry Pi Foundation, and took the opportunity to spend some quality time with a production board and to discuss this incredible PC. We touched upon the origins of the system (inspired by the BBC Micro, one of the ARM founders' projects), Moore's law, the wonders of simple computers and upcoming products / ideas -- including Adafruit's Pi Plate and Raspberry Pi's prototype camera add-on. On the subject of availability, the company expects that "there will be approximately 200,000 units in the field by the end of June". Take a look at our hands-on gallery below and our video interview after the break.%Gallery-155800%
Hands-on with the Electric Imp at Maker Faire (video)
Yesterday at Maker Faire Bay Area 2012 we visited the Electric Imp booth to chat with the startup's founders and get some hands-on time with the tiny wireless computer. What is the Electric Imp? It's a module containing an ARM Cortex M3 SoC with embedded WiFi that's built into an SD card form factor. While the device looks just like and SD card, it's not pin-compatible with the standard -- the idea is to leverage a reliable and affordable connector for the Electric Imp. The module is not very useful on its own -- it only comes to life when inserted into one of several boards, which provide the Electric Imp with power and access to the real world. In turn the device gives these boards a brain and an Internet connection. Eventually the company hopes that appliance manufacturers will incorporate Electric Imp slots into products to make them network aware. We talked with CEO Hugo Fiennes (formerly with Apple) about the past, present and future of the Electric Imp so hit the break to read more and to watch our hands-on video.%Gallery-155789%
MaKey, MaKey turns the whole world into a keyboard
The litany of exciting Maker Faire products continues with MaKey MaKey, a device that turns anything capable of conducting electricity into a controller. Developed by MIT Media Lab students Jay Silver and Eric Rosenbaum, you simply run an alligator clip from the board to an object and hold a connecting wire in your hand. Connecting over USB, it's entirely programming-free, but if you find your interest piqued, you can flip the board over to use the Arduino module baked into the hardware. It's already surpassed its original $25,000 Kickstarter goal and when the run begins, you'll be able to pick up everything you need for just $35 -- but if you can't wait that long, head on down to the Bay Area this weekend. [Thanks, Ryan]
Visualized: Arduino gets super-sized ahead of Maker Faire
This is Make's John Edgar Park, manfully clutching his Arduino Grande. The oversized device isn't just for show though, it's a fully working unit for those projects where a standard sized PCB just won't do. He'll be taking excited modders though the process of building it at Maker Faire on Saturday, just head over to the demo stage at 5:30pm with your pre-written Super Size Me jokes close to hand.
MakerBot uncovers the miracle of 3D printed 'bot making (video)
There are few things out there that can send you into a shame spiral of career despair quite as quickly as watching a group of people with arguably one of the funnest jobs in the world. People like the MakerBot 3D design team, who were tasked with assembling an army of cuddly robots a "petting zoo" for this weekend's Maker Faire in the San Francisco Bay Area. Now, granted, we're sure they all work hard, but we can't help but feel a little jealous at the opportunity to design kid-friendly 'bots using the company's Replicator 3D printer. Check out a video of the team in action after the break.
MakerBot printing out Robot Petting Zoo for Maker Faire
Sure, it's no $500 3D printer, but the folks at MakerBot always have plenty of fun stuff floating around their Brooklyn headquarters. Stuff like, you know, a Robot Petting Zoo. The company's prepping a slew of 3D printed 'bots for display at the upcoming Maker Faire in California. CNET's got shots of the robots, each of which have special functionality like old Button Bot pictured above -- not so great for petting, but he likely knows more tricks that your average sheep. More images at the source link below.
The Engadget Show is live, here at 6:00PM ET! (update: we're done!)
Are you ready for this? If not, too bad, because we're back, and boy have we got jam-packed show this month. The next episode of The Engadget Show starts shooting tonight at 6PM ET, and you can join us at this very URL -- so keep your browser locked to this spot. This time out, we'll be testing out the Grace One electric bike on the streets of New York City, paying a visit to the Frog laboratories to check out some awesome design projects, popping by Maker Faire in New York and discussing DIY projects with Make:Live co-hosts Matt Richardson and Becky Stern, getting serenaded by viral rock star Jonathan Coulton and discussing the origins of everyone's favorite dancing robot, Keepon. Update: That's a wrap! We'll have it edited and up on the site as soon as we can!
MakerBot's Turtle Shell Racers cruise around our offices (video)
This weekend's Maker Faire in New York City was lousy with 3D printers. Every tent in the outdoor area was packed to capacity with the things, their owners standing beside them, showing off the small trinkets they'd created with the devices. Judging from their presence, there seems little question that the technology has proven a success with the maker community. Amongst the general public, however, they've been a much harder sell. Perhaps it's the price, or maybe it's the generally dull connotations of the word "printer," or it could just be the fact that there hasn't been the right iconic image to help sell the products to the public at large. MakerBot's Turtle Shell Racers may well be just the ambassador that the world of 3D printing needs. The toy football-sized RC cars are proof positive that the devices can turn just about anything you can imagine into reality. There are certain limitations, of course, like the fact that the objects printed can't be larger than five inches in diameter. The Shells' creator circumvented that admitted shortcoming by assembling the products out of small pieces that snap together. Check out more hands-on impressions and a video with the racers after the jump.%Gallery-134372%
Arduino brings the (new) goods to Maker Faire New York, welcomes ARM into the fold
When Arduino unveiled a boatload of new products on Friday, we could have taken the easy route, posted the PR and called it a day. But, since the crew happened to be in town for Maker Faire, with a few folks from Atmel (makers of the AVR chip at the heart of the open source MCU) in tow, we figured why not go straight to the source. Arduino founder Massimo Banzi gave us a look at the company's latest offerings: the ARM-powered Arduino Due, the low-cost Arduino Leonardo, and aptly-named Arduino WiFi, as well as a peek at some of the group's upcoming plans. Keep on reading after the break for the juicy details.%Gallery-134242%
Brainlink lets you control your toy robots, Roombas, before they control you (video)
Let's be frank for a minute -- we need to gain control of our robots before they get control of us, so why not start with the robots you've already got taking up space on your shelves at home? At this year's Maker Faire in New York, BirdBrain Technologies showcased a way to hijack your toy robots, Roombas and other bits of home electronics: the Brainlink System. The forthcoming little triangle hooks up to your existing technology, letting you program commands, add sensors to the device and generally teach it new tricks. The company's chief robot designer, Tom Lauwers, showcased the technology on a Robosapien, a TV and a Roomba, the latter of which you can see in the video after the break.%Gallery-134202%
Stepping into the Polaroid Matrix at Maker Faire (video)
Sometimes it's the simplest questions that lead to the most important innovation -- other times it's more that they're just plain fun to answer. Take the one asked by Grand Rapids, MI-artist, Sam Blanchard: what would the Wachowski Brothers' bullet-time effect look like, were it shot on, say 20 Polaroids, instead of a room full of expensive digital devices? The answer, naturally, can be found in the Polaroid Matrix, a circle of cameras on display at Maker Faire in New York, this weekend. The Kickstarter success story arranges the cameras into a circle -- a subject can be sat in the middle, or the cameras can be oriented outward, to take a panorama of the surrounding environment. Once the rig is fired up, the cameras make that familiar Polaroid warm up hum -- times 20. The actual photographing happens almost in an instant, with 20 flashes. The photographer walks around the circle and collects 20 photos, which are bound into a photographic flipbook. Check out a video of the Polaroid Matrix in action, after the jump.%Gallery-134201%
Solar-powered rollerblading robot carries you to work on a chariot of humiliation (video)
Bob Schneevis is at it again. The man who turned George W. Bush into a robotic Roman warrior has now developed something he calls the Solar Electric Robot Chariot. Showcased at this year's Maker Faire Bay Area, Schneevis' single-motor, bot-drawn carriage features a set of battery-juicing solar panels and an array of cameras that control its chauffeur's mechanized movements. The bot, meanwhile, glides around on a pair of rollerblades and is designed to move its legs in the same way humans do -- with the only difference being that humans don't rollerblade anymore. Skate past the break to see the chariot coast around a parking lot with Mitchell Goosen-like grace.
Maker Faire pony has Wiimote-controlled indigestion, belches fire (video)
There's a good reason why My Little Pony wasn't marketed to boys. Shown off at the 2011 Maker Faire in Detroit, this animatronic, fire-breathing horsie got to spread a little heat thanks to the Louisville, KY-based modding duo, LVL1. The partially Wiimote-controlled mechanical filly is the result of the duo's Hackerspace efforts, and plans are already underway to loose this steed into the great, fully wireless open. Also on deck for the hot-mouthed stallion: a flame-spewing cabbage patch doll riding companion. How's that for a DIY-perversion of your precious 80s youth? Peep the full pyromania-tinged project after the break.
Telecommunications device for the deaf gets hitched to a rotary phone, hacked to run Zork
In today's episode of "But will it run Zork?" a chap named Ulysses got the vintage game to run on a TDD (telecommunications device for the deaf) -- a project he built to show off at the Bay Area Maker Faire last weekend. In a move we truly respect, he hunted down a rotary phone lifted straight out of the era when Zork was conceived (that would be the late '70s / early '80s). Then, he modified a modem so that the acoustically coupled TDD could be interfaced -- transmitting at a slow 45.5 baud to make it easy for even ponderous readers to keep up, one line at a time on the TDD's narrow display. Once this was sorted, things weren't exactly smooth sailing when Ulysses started fitting the compressed Zork story file into the system. At first, he tried using an Arduino Pro and an Arduino Mega, but found that neither had enough memory to accommodate the compressed Zork story file. Ultimately, he took a different tack and settled on an embeddable FitPC. We'd love nothing more than to see this thing in action, but in lieu of a video we highly suggest carving out a few minutes and perusing Ulysses' photo blog at the source link.
Maker Faire 2011, in pictures: Arduinos, Androids, and angry robots (video)
The rapture has come and gone, but the Maker Faire powers on. Despite warnings of a May 21st doomsday, folks came out in droves for the annual celebration of all things DIY, and we were there to bring you the best in homespun inventions. This year's Maker Faire was light on robots and big on corporate sponsorship. Among the giants supporting the little guys were Google, ASUS, and HP, but El Goog's presence extended beyond its dedicated tents. The new Android ADK was big with at-home tinkerers this year, spawning a number of little robots and at least one DIY alternative. Perhaps no other trend proved more pervasive than 3D printing, however -- every time we turned around there was another MakerBot or RapMan pumping out everything from statuettes of attendees to cutesy salt shakers. There were robotic building blocks, a Heineken-themed R2-D2, DIY drones, custom keyboards, and a ton of repurposed gadgets, but it was an arena of destructo-bots, tucked away in the farthest corner of the San Mateo County Event Center, that really blew us away. We came away sunburned and bedraggled, but lucky for you, we did all the dirty work so you don't have to. To see what made this year's Maker Faire, hop on past the break for a video of our favorite DIY finds. %Gallery-124165% Myriam Joire contributed to this report.
Mark Frauenfelder on maker culture, openness and Apple
I'm attending Respect The Internet in NYC, a one-day Ketchum conference highlighting the sometimes tenuous and touchy relationship between online culture and traditional marketing/media. Among the morning's star presenters was Boing Boing founder and MAKE magazine/Maker Faire standard bearer Mark Frauenfelder, who discussed the maker ethos and the DIY manifesto (user-replaceable parts! screws not glue!) while highlighting some fascinating sites, companies and grass-roots efforts around the world. I noticed that Mark was presenting from an 11" MacBook Air, which had the effect of making his lap and hands look unusually large -- but it also made me wonder how the idea of a hackable product ecosystem with full user access is reconciled with Apple's attitude toward hacking in general and hardware modification/upgrades in particular. Since I had the chance to ask him about it, I did. His response is nuanced; he's "not an extremist" about openness, although he wants to see greater accessibility in product design. "Not everything has to be open," he noted. A video clip of the Q & A (sorry for the Stickam quality) is in the second half of this post. The conference continues this afternoon; you can tune into the live feed here.
Maker Faire 2010, in pictures
What does it take to pique your curiosity? Would a building-sized, needle-nosed 50's space ship do the trick? Perhaps the female form, constructed entirely out of obsolete typewriter parts? How about a machine designed specifically to find out how many licks it takes to get to the center of that blasted Tootsie Roll pop? These were just a few of the many wonders present at the 2010 Maker Faire in San Mateo, California, and despite being a lifelong resident of the region, this weekend marked my very first attendance at the event. Needless to say, I've been kicking myself for not exploring my DIY side earlier. You don't have to do the same, however, because I brought home practically enough pictures to give you a virtual tour; you'll find robotic spiders, NES banjos, LEGO cities, automobile-sized bicycles, miniature nautical battles and much, much more in the gallery below. Now, go get lost in there. %Gallery-93609% Special Bonus: Rock band OK Go, performing under the influence of H2O. Quite literally, we might add. When was the last time you rocked out underwater?
Video: Wii Nunchuk controls motorized Beancat chair
Nintendo's Wiimote (and the Nunchuk, by extension) have certainly been wired up to control their fair share of oddities, but we honestly can't think of a more suitable use for a spare 'chuk than this right here. The so-called Beancat is nothing more than a motorized beanbag chair that takes direction from a wired Nunchuk, and while we can't exactly speak from experience, it certainly looks thrilling from afar. Have a glance yourself just past the break, and tap the read link if you're eager to see how it all came together. [Via MAKE]
