Arduino IDE on an EEEPC 701 Netbook

February 29, 2012 (PROJECTS & CONCEPTS) The Arduino is a simple-to-use microcontroller, which is essentially a programmable controller used to operate electronic projects. By measuring and regulating inputs and outputs, the Arduino can control lighting, motors, sound, and just about anything else electronic you can properly hook up to it. To give the Arduino instructions, you must write a program in the Arduino "Integrated Development Environment" (IDE) and upload it to the controller. This is generally done from your desktop or notebook computer.

An Asus EEEPC 701. This was the original model that started the netbook craze. Since then, Asus has come out with a whole line of EEEPC's including tablets and desktop versions. The 701 is still a convenient way to bring reading with you, browse the Internet, and now, with Ubuntu's Netbook 10.10 operating system, work on Arduino projects.

Luckily, even if you are a beginner in programming and you are unsure of what you are looking at - a lot of code is already freely available online to use with projects, and many times instructions are given as to how to tweak it to give different results. You need to have the IDE on your computer to work out the code and upload it to the Arduino - usually by a USB cable. If you are using Windows, you can simply download the IDE software, install it like a normal program and have it running in minutes.

If you have Linux, on the other hand, it can be a great deal more difficult - especially if you are like me and know very little about this open source operating system (OS). However, I have an Asus EEEPC netbook, a 701 model - the first model they came out with several years ago - and it came by default with Linux Xandros. I had long since replaced it with EEEbuntu (another Linux distribution) and it has worked flawlessly for years. But now I wanted another machine to run Arduino from, and since my main computers are generally rendering 3D around the clock on a very cluttered desk, I thought it would be handy to have my small EEEPC as a Arduino console to bring with me where I was working.

Installing Arduino on EEEbuntu is probably possible if you are an expert in Linux and using its terminal function. If you are a causal user, it is not. I then embarked on a three day odyssey searching for any OS that could both run Arduino's IDE and be installed on my EEEPC 701. I tried searching for different Linux Ubuntu distributions, both old and new, I even managed to get Andriod running for a day, but was rife with problems. I finally ended up with Ubuntu's Netbook version 10.10. I followed the instructions found on this beginner's guide on how to install the Arduino IDE on Ubuntu, and it finally worked.

The steps I took are as follows:

1. Download the utility Unetbootin on your computer (a Windows PC in my case). This allows you to download .iso files and put them on a blank USB thumbdrive. This USB drive can then be used to boot from on your EEEPC and install the OS of your choice - in my case, Unbutu 10.10 Netbook (download here: ubuntu-10.10-netbook-i386.iso) 

2. In Unetbootin, select Diskimage, keep it as ISO, and browse to your download folder and find the .iso file you just downloaded. Ensure that you have the correct drive for your USB selected because this process will erase any data you may have on another device or drive. When you are doing this sort of work - it is best to disconnect everything else just to be on the safe side. After clicking "OK" it will place the .iso image on your thumbdrive and when it is finished you simply close it (don't "reboot"), remove the drive and connect it to your EEEPC.

If you successfully hit your Esc key during your EEEPC's boot up, you should see this screen. If you have your USB thumbdrive with the Ubuntu .iso on it, it should show up as an option, usually the second one down. Pick it and hit enter.

3. Turn on your EEEPC and hit the Esc key at start up - a blue screen with boot options comes up (you might have to hit Esc several times until it comes up). You want to make sure you select your USB drive as the boot up device. If it works successfully, you will begin the self-guided process of installing Ubuntu. If a white line is blinking, you may have to shut it down, reformat your thumb drive, reinstall the .iso image, and start over (this happened to me many times when installing different OS' during the last 3 days).

4. Once you have Ubuntu up and running on your EEEPC, follow this fool-proof guide on installing Arduino's IDE. It worked for me the first time - and I am extremely inexperienced in all things Linux and not a computer expert by any stretch of the imagination.

My EEEPC running Ubuntu Netbook 10.10 with Arduino's IDE successfully running. The project to the left is the Sparkfun kit, circuit 14, the code for which can be found here. I was able to load a "fade" code example that is included with the IDE - and without changing anything to the circuit, the LED pulses on and off.

I was then able to upload to my Arduino successfully my programs and it worked flawlessly. If you try this and run into any problems contact us here at HackerSpaceTH at Gmail dot com. We will be glad to help, as I can personally attest, it can be very frustrating - but just remember, we hack not because it is easy, but precisely because it is satisfyingly challenging.    

Arduino: Circiut 02 - Circuit 14

February 24, 2012 (PROJECTS & CONCEPTS) I decided to go through all the circuits provided in the Sparkfun Inventor's Kit. Four in particular turned out to be great ideas to expand on - controlling a row of LEDs, using a potentiometer to control a servo, controlling a piezo element to produce tones, and using a soft potentiometer to fade through colors on an RGB LED.

Out of 14 circuits, these 4 were the most interesting. Combining these circuits in different ways might be a good next step before moving on to more complex projects.The circuit on the bottom left is one such combination.

Combining these circuits would be a good next step - getting some experience creating new projects on your own without simply going through the steps provided. In fact, the potentiometer-controlled servo was a combination of a basic servo rotation circuit and a potentiometer/LED circuit. The next step will be to produce some more practical applications. Right now we have 2 Arduinos here, so one can be used to experiment and teach with, while another can be integrated into a full-time application for long term testing and development.

We're looking at some some applications to gather and Tweet information automatically, or perhaps automate some processes around here. For now, all the projects are running off the USB port of a computer - so I'll have to look into and execute a few projects utilizing a DC adapter before developing permanent stand-alone applications.

More to come soon...

Arduino: Circuit 01

February 23, 2012 (PROJECTS & CONCEPTS) The Sparkfun Inventor's Kit is an easy way to get into Arduino. It comes with components for 14 different test circuits that works with code included with Arduino's software found on their website. If you have no experience with electronics at all, it would be a great way to get into it. No soldering is required, and since the experiments run off of power provided by your computer's USB port, no batteries or power sources are needed either. 

What is an Arduino? Arduino The Documentary (2010). A history of the Arduino microcontroller and an introduction to open source hardware. from gnd on Vimeo.

The code included with the examples is well annotated. For those with a little experience in coding, changing parameters and uploading them takes seconds and the results easily observed. The first circuit - 01 - is a simple blinking LED with parameters to switch it on, off, and the duration it remains in each state. A video of the circuit being assembled and running can be found here. From the simple example that turns on and off for one second each, you can easily shorten the duration, double the loop, and end up with an LED mimicking the rhythm of a human heart.

An open source Arduino "Uno" microcontroller. Claims of how easy it is to use are understated - the software and interface are approachable even for people who feel uncomfortable around programming and electronics. For those with even a little experience in either coding or electronic (or both) it is all the more easy.

The Sparkfun Inventor's Kit. This set up is "Circuit 01" and allows you to control a single LED. Upon setting it up, following the instructions, in less than 5 minutes I was already changing the code and observing my handy work. Other circuits include controlling a DC motor, a servo, and several types of input devices - sensors and buttons. 

For a hackerspace, a kit like Sparkfun's gives people a chance to get a feel for using an Arduino before jumping into more complicated projects. Since there is no soldering involved, mistakes can be quickly fixed and the learning process moving forward. If you are looking to start working with Arduino microcontrollers, this kit is a great way to do it.

Printing 3D Body Parts - For Real

FEBRUARY 9, 2012 ( SCI-TECH NEWS) 
first seen on Hack-a-Day...

Need a new mandible (jaw?) Print one. Using layers of titanium powder built up to form a 3D custom mandible for a patient, LayerWise in conjunction with Xilloc Medical as well as medical professionals from a range of disciplines have pushed 3D printing to practical extremes. Unlike previous medical uses of 3D printing, also known as "rapid prototyping," this creation is a fully functioning, permanent implant, not a model conceptualization of one.

Billed as the "very first customised 3D-printed lower jaw" the Xilloc mandibular implant is constructed out of titanium powder layer by layer fused by a high intensity laser. Coated with an artificial bone-like substance and outfitted with everything needed to be successfully implanted into a patient, the replacement-jaw is a living example of science-fiction become reality.

Initially used for prototyping, a growing number of processes are being developed to produce custom products, short run production of real components used in functional objects, and in the case of this latest achievement, high-quality, state-of-the-art permanent medical implants. The process utilized by LayerWise is described on their website. While similar to other additive manufacturing processes in theory, what makes LayerWise's process interesting is the fact that they use metals in their 3D printing process, while most processes today use different forms of plastic. A high-intensity laser traces, layer-by-layer a 3D design broken down into multiple 2D slices - the result is a precision-built 3D object.

X Prize: Star Trek Medical Tricorder

FEBRUARY 2, 2012 ( SCI-TECH NEWS)

Believe it or not, a lot of the technology seen in the original Star Trek series has already become a reality. From personal communicators (the modern mobile phone) to a communication officer's earpiece (bluetooth earpieces). Even the early traces of the replicator introduced later in the franchise can be seen in modern day 3-D printers.

The Star Trek medical tricorder: compact and versatile, it provides users with instant diagnoses for a number of injuries, conditions, and diseases as well as general vital signs and other useful health and health-related environmental metrics.  

 Now, a competition has begun, sponsored by the X Prize Foundation, to develop a Star Trek-style medical tricorder. The X Prize Foundation first began back in the 1990's by challenging private teams to develop a suborbital flight system capable of making two launches within as many weeks for a prize of $10 million USD. The contest ultimately succeeded when Scaled Composites' SpaceShipOne completed the requirements on October 4, 2004.

What is a medical tricorder? It is a handheld device used by doctors in the Star Trek universe to quickly and non-invasively diagnosis medical conditions. They've been depicted as capable of identifying ailments and physical damage, reading symptoms such as temperature, hydration, and neural activity, identifying DNA (though detailed sequencing was usually done back in sickbay), and even environmental factors that may pose a health threat.

What are the requirements? From the official prize website: "As envisioned for this competition, the device will be a tool capable of capturing key health metrics and diagnosing a set of 15 diseases. Metrics for health could include such elements as blood pressure, respiratory rate, and temperature. Ultimately, this tool will collect large volumes of data from ongoing measurement of health states through a combination of wireless sensors, imaging technologies, and portable, non-invasive laboratory replacements." More details about guidelines can be found here.

Hackerspaces? While a single hackerspace might not have the resources to produce a single device capable of the full set of requirements, the open source collaborative nature of hackerspaces worldwide could probably each focus on a few solutions and ultimately combine them as success is met.  A visit to Hackaday.com's "Medical Hacks" already shows many innovative solutions that could enhance health, and lower the cost for tools normally out of most people's price range.

The key to lowering helthcare costs in the long run is coming up with cheaper, more capable biomedical technology and increasing access to quality education to both develop and use the technology as well as apply it in a medical context. Quite obviously a single diagnosis tool you can hold in the palm of your hand is a good start. It would be interesting to see what other objects in the typical Starfleet sickbay inventors and hackers could come up with after being inspired by this new competition.