Helios Turbots

The University of of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has been running a BEAM-style mechatronics program (GE100) for the last few years. The purpose of the class is to build a self-powered device that can propel itself over both smooth and rough terrain, using a pair of servos and a BEAM-style servo-controller circuit (similar in function to […]

It appears February 14th is almost upon us, and it's an event that holds emotional significance to the very fibre of our souls. So to celebrate GPS Day (or Oregon Day or Death of the First Cloned Mammal Day or First Serbian Uprising against the Ottoman Empire Day or Department of Commerce Day) we decided […]

Today August 21, 2017, we were treated to about 80% solar eclipse. In spite of the smoke, the weather cooperated so we couldn't miss this event. Pinhole projector boxes were made out of cereal and shipping boxes: Fancy ones were mounted onto a tripod, and a phone camera recording a time lapse video was taped […]

Mini-360 DC-DC Buck converter $3.70 Super compact and capable, this DC-DC buck converter can knock down a voltage from 23V to as low as 1V with up to 95% efficiency. Wonderflex Heat-activated Composite Plastic Sheet $79.00 This is a heat-activated, formable polyester plastic sheet that is very popular in making prop armour and other rigid […]