LEGO Mindstorms Automated Microscope

More and more we see instances where people use LEGO for serious projects, not merely for the amusement factor, but because it offers an awesome customizable framework for experiments.

Check out this automated microscope prototyped by a guy named Jamie Robinson, a PhD student from the University of Southampton. The USB microscope is controlled via a LEGO framework that moves the microscope and focuses automatically by raising and lowered the sample to be scanned. Additionally, it has the ability to methodically scan a larger sample by dividing it into grids.

"LEGO provides us with a familiar 'physical sandbox' which can be used to demonstrate various technologies," Robinson and his cohorts said in their super-dry abstract. "[it] allows for the rapid development of mechanical solutions that may take weeks to produce using traditional manufacturing processes. The use of LEGO Mindstorms provides us with a convenient, robust, programmable controller."

Via Hack A Day

Knitting for Nerds

Somehow or other knitting and hacking have intersected.

I am no knitter and doubt I ever will be one, but I respect the fact that smart people making their own clothes is sort of a Home-Ec aspect of the DIY movement no different than circuit bending or prying the brainpan off your Robosapien. It's all about autonomizing your life, taking responsibility for it rather then allowing it to be controlled by merchants and manufacturers.

It should come as no surprise, therefore, that a guerilla knitting panel appeared in the recently completed CCC hacker conference. As home fabrication becomes more widespread, and as more women begin embracing their own definition of geekiness, expect to see this sort of thing take on a new prominence.

For a video of the CCC talk, download this torrent. Also, check out the website of KNITTA PLEASE, a worldwide guerilla knitting movement.

Via We Make Money Not Art.

Photo by Noah Sussman.

GeekKid Survival Tool: DIY Magstripe Reader

I bought a beer at the Twins game the other day and the concession worker scanned my driver's license into her computer to verify my age. But what else did she get? My social security number? My street address?

No idea.

The sad fact of the matter is that our personal info is being bandied about by all sorts of companies, and this is only going to get worse as our geekkids grow up.

The best thing we can do to prepare them to guard their privacy is to show them how to read what's on their cards. That means a magstripe reader... basically the same thing as those little boxes that cashiers use to scan credit cards. But since we're geekdads, let's not buy one, let's make one!

So, where to begin? Blogger Tim Matheson has step-by-step instructions on his site. Refined from a 2600 Magazine article, Matheson details how to create a magstripe reader from a cassette player head, a 3.5 mm mono phone plug and a soldering iron. Helping your geekkids with this project will teach basic electronic theory as well as keep them informed of what's going on in those mysterious black strips.

Note that there may be laws in your area restricting "tampering" with magstripes, so do your research beforehand.

DIY Bike LEDs

Doubtlessly you've seen all those cool pix from the Maker Faire showing the amazing LED displays on bike wheels. The only thing cooler than having such a gadget is building it first! Hacker and electrical engineer Limor Fried (a.k.a. Ladyada) has easy-to-solder kits available from her online store. Or, if you're more daring (or just component rich) she has free schematics, software and firmware available for download. Just the thing to get the kids to pick up the soldering iron!