If you need a simple Time Delay Alarm Circuit, this might be just what you need. Nice thing about it is that since it is based around a 4060 14 stage ripple counter which means there is no programming needed, just wire all of the components and power it up. The circuit uses a photo resistor to start the timer, the circuit wants to be in the dark, as soon as it is moved into the light the timer starts and if it is still in the light after 20 seconds the piezo buzzer will sound. This circuit could be easily adapted to monitor almost anything by replacing R2 with a switch, for example if you mounted a N/O (normally open) switch on your front door you could be notified when your front door has been left open for more than 20 seconds.

For full build details check out DIY Electronic Projects.

Check out this Smartphone controlled Remote Dog Feeder, it is powered by the Avnet Spartan-6 LX9 that was designed and built by Kevin Keryk, an Avnet engineer. It is build on a wood frame with a battery power supply which is housed in an Altoids tin. The batteries power the Spartan-6 LX9 board and a Digilent PMODCon3 Board. An Ethernet cable plugs the Spartan-6 controller into a port on a router to allow the system to have remote access. A servo is controlled by the Digilent board and this is what actually causes the food to be dispensed. A simple command can then be initiated by a remote device to actuate the servo and feed the dog!

We have seen some other automatic pet feeders in the past. If you are hooked on this one and want to give it a try you can refer to this Avnet reference design.

 Via: HG Forum

Check out this new robotic car that has been developed in France by the team from IFSTTAR and the Embedded Electronic Systems Research Institute at ESIGELEC. The goal of the two groups is to develop an autonomous car which would help us be safer in our cars. Researchers can control the car speed and its trajectory through an on-board computer system. The researchers drives the car with the help of a joystick, the group modified a Renault Grand Espace by adding robotic driver sensors, camera and control bay on roof.

Via: ieee Spectrum

“There are three cameras to monitor the vehicle’s surroundings and one forward-facing used to track road lanes and markings. A LIDAR unit at the front detects other cars and pedestrians.”

What is SOPA?

The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA, H.R. 3261) is on the surface a bill that attempts to curb online piracy. Sadly, the proposed way it goes about doing this would devastate the online economy and the overall freedom of the web. It would particularly affect sites with heavy user generated content. Sites like Youtube, Reddit, Twitter, and others may cease to exist in their current form if this bill is passed.

Have you ever been to carnivals and played Duck Hunt Game? Check out the video of this Laser Shooting Duck Hunt Game which shows how this game has evolved using Laser technology. It was carried out by few students from San Jose State University and made the use of laser guns for shooting the eye-catching ducks made up of glass which is makes this game more fascinating to play. Mike Szczys from Hack a Day described the process briefly so that you can blend the strategy in some of your projects too.

Via: Hack a Day

Check out this cool Electric Skateboard hack driven using a Kinect by Chaotic Moons Labs. An all-terrain long skateboard is equipped with a Microsoft’s Kinect controlled by a Windows 8 Samsung Tab. It has an 800 watt electric motor and uses a 36 volt power pack to set it in the motion.  

This high tech skateboard works with voice and video recognition and also has accelerometers for feedback. The Kinect transmits the movement into a voice controlled Windows 8 powered Samsung Tablet. Rider can select the speed of skateboard up to the maximum speed of 32 mph. To go faster the rider just pushes their hands in forward direction. To slow down or to go back just do opposite.  Controlling this skateboard is just like playing car racing games on computer with arrow keys.

Via : Popsci

Bogdan Raducanu from Electro Bob has installed some LED Lighting that uses PIR Sensors in his kitchen and bathroom, the LED strips provide sufficient light for the areas and only turn on when someone id in the area because of the motion sensors that have been placed in strategic locations. He has documented his steps so you can also have some automatic lighting in your house.

“Tiny PIR sensors will turn on the lights in the kitchen and bathroom when someone comes in range. The sensors are rather popular modules using a BISS0001 IC; they provide a 3.3V level for an adjustable time when motion is detected. The circuit is used to turn on the hallway lights. T2 will turn off when it is dark enough, allowing T1 to turn ON and light up the LEDs. The threshold is determined by the divider formed with a photo resistor and a potentiometer. I gave up using a constant current supply in the favor of a simple current limiting resistor because at around 100mA of current (set with R3) there is no danger of thermal runaway.”