iFOB This
Active RFID to open your car doors. Maps to Maker Faire and presentation times. And a bunch of new stuff!
iFOB. It just rolls off the tongue, no?
iFOB is a device I built to sense my presence and automatically unlock my car as I walk up to it. The Nike+iPod footpod lives in my pocket, the iPod receiver and my actual key fob live inside the car. Since the footpod broadcasts a unique ID, it's a bit like active RFID. The iFOB hears the unique ID, identifies me as 'Nate', that I'm cool to enter the car, and hits the unlock button. Works pretty well! Checkout the tutorial over in SparkFun Projects.
Yay Maker Faire. It's looking bigger and bigger each passing day.
If anyone would like to join, I will be speaking a couple times at MF as well:
Where: Maker Workshop Stage, B, Fiesta Hall
When: Saturday, May 30th at 12:00 pm
Length: 50 min
Title: Electronics Prototyping Process
Description: This talk will help put the entire prototyping process
into context. We will cover all the milestone phases, including: concept
& planning, PCB design & layout, considerations for
manufacturing higher quantities, and more. This is a great discussion
for folks who are interested in getting a big-picture summary of DIY
technology and how to start creating their own electronic widgets.
Where: Make TV Stage
When: Sunday, May 31st at 12:00 pm
Length: 50 min
Title: Open Source Hardware
Description: This should be a sweet mix of people for a panel type talk. I'm not sure who all will show up.
Where: Maker Workshop Stage, B, Fiesta Hall
When: Sunday, May 31st at 4:00 pm
Length: 50 min
Title: Napkin Schematics
Description: We use this method to hash out the beginning thoughts
for SparkFun projects as a pre-cursor to a legitimate schematic. The
goal of this class is to help you sketch out the block diagrams for
your individual project. It will be taught in a round-table format.
It's an ideal class for those who have an idea for an electronics
'widget' but are not quite familiar enough with the beginning stages of
the prototyping process. You will need to bring a project that is on
your mind, some paper or a sketching journal, and we'll help you fill
in the blanks. Projects can range from medical devices, art, electronic
'helper' devices, consumer products, you name it, we'll try to help!
You are welcome to use any chip, technology, or development board that
you would like. We'll try to dig up whatever information we need to
answer your questions. We will recommend available technologies,
describe various interface requirements, and show what pitfalls to look
out for - but we also encourage attendees to participate with their own
recommendation!
Are we good? Ok, time for the new goodies:
The kits are here! We created a new category for some of the various kits we make and sell. We're pretty excited about bringing these to Maker Faire. We should have stock available soon.
We had a customer request an extra wiring harness for the fabulous USB Logic Analyzer. We thought it was a great idea so Joe at Saleae hooked us up. Speaking of, I think Joe will be roaming around Maker Faire so shoot him an email to meet up.
Pololu shipped us a bunch of new parts including the popular line-following 3pi robot and this nifty wheel encoder.
This is a TRIAC. Triacs are this neat device that allows us to control a burly AC source from a logic friendly DC signal. Great for controlling EL wire and other small AC loads.
Interested in more RFID?
We've got a page just for you! Get an overview of the basics of how RFID works, the hardware needed and tutorials to get you started.
