Embedded

The linker post for this episode is Be Excellent to Each Other. Dennis Jackson spoke with us about drones (and Airware), simple code, and learning.  Hobbyist drones and UAVs on Amazon: tiny and cheap,  medium (Christopher's gift), andplease-I'm-drooling-right-now. Only the last one may be an Airware platform (Dennis could neither confirm nor deny). Airware's breakdown of proposed FAA rules Simple code: Cyclomatic complexity Chris Svec's episode on empathy driven design (he'll also be at ESC Boston!) Test Driven Development for Embedded C by James Grenning Don't Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability Dennis has also worked on DEKA's iBOT and at Avinger's OCT system. Dennis had a list of suggested articles and blogs on safety critical software development: 30 Pitfalls for Real Time Systems (part 1 and part 2)  Rules for defensive C programming Joel Spolsky's blog (see top 10) Why are you still using C The Power of Ten -- 10 Rules for Writing  Safety Critical Code  Dennis' other suggested reading (ongoing blogs): Coding Horror Jason Sachs's Embedded Systems  The Old New Thing Rands in Repose (management and leadership)

The Linker post for this episode is RTOSs and Brownies. Joel Sherrill (@JoelSherrill) spoke with us about real time operating systems, free and open source software, interns, and space. RTEMS home page and wiki Google Summer of Code (the FAQ is the best part!) and ESA Summer of code (awesome tagline: In space no one can hear you code). The LEON is the ESA Sparc core with open source VHDL and extensive use by ESA. Some projects RTEMS is used on include the Magnetosphere Multiscale Mission, theExPRESS Logistics Carrier, Mars Curiosity, and the Dawn spacecraft that is visiting the Ceres asteroid.

The Linker post for this episode: Make Anything James @Laen Neal from OSHPark spoke with us about starting a business, helping open source hardware, and throwing wild parties.  OSHPark got its start from DorkbotPDX. If you are in Portland, Oregon, check out their meetup (started out on Mondays, now first Tuesday of the month, look at the CymaSpace meetup calendar for the Maker Meetup). Open Source Hardware Association (OSHA) PCB Design School blog Bay Area Maker Faire 2015 is May 16-17, Bring a Hack dinner is usually Sunday.  This time we really did talk about the Maker Pro book.

The Linker post for this episode: How to Win the Hackaday Prize (and Other Design Challenges) Sophi Kravitz, electrical engineer and Hackaday Mythical Creature, came on to leak the new Hackaday Prize details!  On twitter, she's @SophiKravitz and often has the reins of @HackadayPrize. Sophi mentioned Matt Berggren's PCB workshop (oh! and a Solid talk too!). All three of us have been trying to make time for Contextual Electronics (now with fewer time constraints!). Hackaday Omnibus HardwareCon (startup conference in San Leandro, CA) Giant Flip-Dot Display at CES Soft Robotics Kit (and contest) The balloon project is going to FITC. You can hear the soothing sounds here. Sophi rejoins us after being on Episode 77: Goldfish, Fetch My Slippers. Also, we forgot to discuss it but Sophi was an author in the Maker Pro book, full of neat essays.

The Linker post for this Episode: Solving a Different Problem  ThingM's Tod Kurt (@todbot) joined us to talk about the most important part of every embedded system: blinking lights. ThingM has been making I2C lights (BlinkM, MinM and MaxM) since 2006.  The newer, more productized USB light is the Blink(1) (there is a coupon near the end of the show). Blink(1) had two successful kickstarters (second one). The BlinkMs have an ATTiny85 (which is also on the Adafruit Trinket). The Blink(1)s have a PIC processor that is small, cheap, and supports USB quite well (PIC16F1455-I/ML and dev kit). Other smart LEDs include WS28xx  (aka NeoPixel) and APA102 (aka DotStar) Seeed Studio was discussed as a way to get boards built, assembled, even housed. Elecia mentioned Tindie's new CM review site. Tod is cofounder of Crash Space (@CrashSpaceLA), a Los Angeles based hackspace. They (including Tod) were on the short-lived Mythbusters-hosted Rube Goldberg devices show called Unchained Reaction. Tod has worked on some neat art projects, including the Crystal Monster and the Cash Machine. Tod's blog. Speaking of blogs, Chris and Elecia are going to start writing after (podcast) action reports forElement 14. More announcements (and actual links) soon. Don't forget the Chris Savage (Parallax) call for assistance!

Chris Savage (@SavageCircuits) talks about building a community and about stopping projects when life intrudes. His site is Savage Circuits. He has a YouTube channel. He has Savage Circuit TV which are the longer, more in depth videos and Short Circuit for the shorter ones. Also see his forums. Chris works for Parallax and had some kit suggestions: BOE-BOT (board of education bot), its successor the ActivityBot, and the ELEV-8 Quadcopter Kit. Chris is also a writer for Nuts and Volts. At the top of the show, we mentioned Chris' wife. Here is Ken Gracey's request for help. Or you can skip that and use the PayPal link on the Savage Circuits thank you page. (No PayPal account required.)

Same day PCBs?!?  Danielle Applestone (@dapplestone) chatted with Chris and Elecia about desktop CNC milling using @OtherMachine's OtherMill.  OtherMill links: features tools and materials (neat!) store (kits!) instructables (chocolate spaceships!) kickstarter page miniature mocha pot brass, err.. aluminum turbine (also: what Elecia heard) stories of people using OtherMill Synthetos TinyG controller (also see the Make write up about TinyG) BANT (budget, authority, need, timing): more info

Chip Gracey spoke with us about founding @ParallaxInc, chip design, and the Propeller with its many cores. Parallax Some notes on open sourcing the Propeller Propeller One Verilog forum Propeller products Elecia has a very old Propeller Starter kit but is tempted to get the PropStick USB. Many years ago, Chris got a Basic Stamp 2 module (like this one) to control a camera in his RC airplane:

86: MADEUPICAL WORD Erin McKean (@emckean) is a lexicographer, programmer, and start-up founder.  We spoke to her about Wordnik (the online uber dictionary), Reverb (smarter recommendations), and her many books. Wordnik: Adopt-a-word Developer Erin's favorite list Reverb Erin has written many books, some about words, one about dresses (The Hundred Dresses), and one fiction novel about The Secret Lives of Dresses. She has also given two TED talks. Watson on Jeopardy Brian Garner talks about skunked words in his book  Modern American Usage Five Intriguing Things via Tiny Letter [Feb 2, 2015: This link is broken today but it is the right link, google "Five Intriguing Things" to see if they've fixed it.] Elecia's Wordy project if fully documented over on Hackaday Reaction Housing is hiring!

Scott Miller built a hula hoop with Bluetooth, an inertial measurement unit, a 32-bit processor, an 8-bit processor, and a slew of individually addressable LEDs. It makes wild patterns when you move. Scott's "normal" company, with all of its ham radio equipment, is Argent Data Systems. The hula hoops are Hyperion Hoops.  You can buy a hoop. They are also on Facebook or you can watch the mesmerizing lightshow on YouTube (also here and here).  Yes, the hula hoop does speak DMX512, doesn't everybody? Reaction Housing is hiring!