Teen maker Junie Genius attempts to solve problems with crazy robot creations.
The post Weekend Watch: The Madcap Robot World of Junie Genius appeared first on Make: DIY Projects and Ideas for Makers.
Teen maker Junie Genius attempts to solve problems with crazy robot creations.
The post Weekend Watch: The Madcap Robot World of Junie Genius appeared first on Make: DIY Projects and Ideas for Makers.
Graham and Sam worked together to create a robotic gripper controlled with a glove and strong enough to hold household items.
The post Our Journey in Building a Glove-Controlled Robotic Gripper appeared first on Make: DIY Projects and Ideas for Makers.
Enigma machines are fascinating devices, especially for young Makers looking to explore the world of electronics. Awhile back we featured a similar project from Italy, and we’re once again amazed by the work of 14-year-old Andy Eggebraaten, who built a retro-modern gadget of his own. The project, which was for his high school’s science fair, took nine months to complete.
These electro-mechanical rotor cipher machines were developed in the early 20th century to protect commercial, diplomatic and military communication, used especially by German military intelligence during World War II.
In the video below, Andy opens the machine to show its inner workings: the unit runs on Arduino Mega along with 1,800 other parts and 500 color-coded wires. We can see that he evolved the rotors into electronic modules that plug into D-Sub sockets, and the interface is made using a 16-segment display showing the rotor position as well as an LCD screen to read the plain- and the encoded text.
Hacking has always brought more good to the world than not hacking. The successful efforts of the Allies during World War II in deciphering the Enigma machine output still reminds us of that. Today, the machine is a classic example of cryptography and bare-metal computing.
We have covered quite a few DIY Enigma machines in the past, yet 14 years old [Andy] really impressed us with his high school science fair project, a scratch built, retro-modern Enigma machine.
With its wooden enclosure, keyboard, interchangeable rotors, and plugboard, his build resembles an original Worldwar II enigma machine down to the letter. However, when looking closer, you’ll find that the rotors are implemented as electronic modules that plug into D-Sub sockets on the machine. Also, there is a 16 segment display that displays the rotor position as well as an LCD screen that lets you comfortably read the plain- and ciphertext. On the inside, you’ll find an Arduino Mega along with 1,800 other parts and 500 wires, and of course, this modern version has a backspace key.
It took [Andy] over 9 months to put all this together, and he now finds himself among the winners of the State Science & Engineering Fair (SSEF), who will be sent to Intel as representatives of their states. Given his experience in field-capable computing, we’re sure [Andy] can help Intel reconquering mobile. Enjoy the video!
Thanks to [Arduino Enigma] for the tip!
Arduino was conceived as an open source microcontroller for artists, designers, and others who aren't necessarily techie/programmer types. Of course, all sorts of makers have flocked to this technology because of its versatility. But in spite of its relative ease of use, there's still a barrier to entry for new users. Like kids. For that reason, BirdBrain Technologies' Hummingbird looks promising. They call it "pre-Arduino."
