TechnologyIQ

This Raspberry Pi project looks like a toy but it's actually a useful air quality reporting system. It was created by maker Dmytro Panin who used a toy traffic light alongside a Raspberry Pi 3B+ to create the final design. The best Raspberry Pi projects improve our quality of life and this project is no exception. According to Panin, his area is currently experiencing a season of peat fires which can cause the smog levels of the city to increase dramatically and unexpectedly. This project aims to reduce unwanted exposure to higher pollution levels. Read Raspberry Pi Traffic Light Changes Based on Air Quality via Tom's Hardware An interesting link found among my daily reading

My wife has been asking for this since we first started using Siri and Alexa. I changed all of our the moment I found out. Say. “Alexa, change your voice” If this doesn’t work, you can use the Alexa app to change it from your smartphone. — Douglas Alexa’s pleasant, feminine voice has filled the homes of millions over the past few years, but now Amazon has finally released a masculine counterpart for it. Amazon is late to this — both Apple and Google have offered different voices, both feminine and masculine, in their virtual assistants for years. But late or not, it’s nice that Amazon is finally giving some choice for Alexa. In addition to the two main Alexa voices, Amazon also has celebrity voices (right now you can choose between Samuel L. Jackson, Shaquille O’Neal, and Melissa McCarthy). These are programmed to work with certain phrases and answer select questions — mostly alarms and timers, jokes, or weather reports. They also cost $5 each. Any query to an Echo device that’...

  JoyCon drift has been a problem for the Switch ever since the device launched. While it’s done absolutely nothing to dent the hardware’s meteoric popularity, it’s been an annoyance and an unwanted additional cost for an unknown number of players since the system debuted. The problem is magnified on the Switch Lite because that console can’t swap JoyCons for a new set. Nintendo has faced multiple class-action lawsuits worldwide, though the company has steadfastly refused to fix the problem. The upcoming OLED-based Switch, for example, is already known to use the same JoyCon hardware that the 2017-era system does. Read A Piece of Paper Might Fix JoyCon Drift via Extremetech An interesting link found among my daily reading

Have you ever wondered if a robot could make mesmerizing paintings and art? In this project I attempt to make that a reality with an Arduino Powered Painting Robot. The objective is for the robot to be able to make paintings on its own and use a reference image as a guide to replicate an artwork. I used the power of CAD and digital fabrication to create a robust chassis onto which I mounted an arm that could dip the paint brush into one of the 7 paint containers and draw on the canvas. The robot is made using common parts such as stepper motors and servo motors and it is designed to work with any kind of paint. Follow on to create your own Arduino Powered Painting Robot and do drop a vote for this project in the "Paint Challenge" if you enjoyed the project and decide to build your own version. Read Arduino Powered Painting Robot : 11 Steps (with Pictures) via Instructables An interesting link found among my daily reading

It’s a question that’s fascinated educators for decades. When students first begin to learn computer science — which programming language should they start with? One person who’s given it a lot of thought is Mark Guzdial, a computer science professor at the University of Michigan who has also conducted his own research in the fields of computer science education. And two different colleagues had recently suggested it didn’t matter which language was taught first to CS students, which got him thinking. Read What Should Be a Student’s First Programming Language? via The New Stack An interesting link found among my daily reading

With SpaceX’s Starlink being made available in my area, I became curious about just how many satellites were overhead at any given time. Fortunately, the US Space Command tracks and makes available data for tracking the live positions of objects in orbit. We can download this data, and use a Raspberry Pi and some speakers to announce when a particular satellite is making an overhead pass. You can also get an SMS message sent to your phone in addition to the audio.  Read How to Track Satellite Fly-Bys with Raspberry Pi via Tom's Hardware An interesting link found among my daily reading

German scientists have built a high resolution microscope out of Lego parts and components salvaged from a mobile phone, according to a recent paper published in The Biophysicist. They found that children who undertook the project—including building their microscopes and conducting several at-home experiments—gained enhanced understanding of how microscopy works. It's part of an ongoing "frugal science" trend: using cheap consumer hardware and open-source software to build low-cost scientific instruments. The DIY tools are perfect for educational environments and for field use in developing countries. Read German scientists built a high-resolution microscope out of Lego bricks via Ars Technica An interesting link found among my daily reading

After coming across Carbon Design Group’s Domino Wall Clock, which uses electronic magnetic coil motors to reveal white dots, Instructables member “Kothe” decided to create a simplified version of their own. The clock is comprised of three custom dominoes — the first tile for hours, the second and third for minutes. Unlike its inspiration, Kothe’s device uses addressable RGB LEDs as dots that allow for a variety of colors to shine through. Read This DIY domino clock tells the time using three LED-lit tiles via Arduino Blog An interesting link found among my daily reading