Cast AR hands-on with Jeri Ellsworth at Maker Faire 2013 (update: video interview)

Posted on 18/05/2013 by Nicole Lee

When Valve's first hardware hire, Jeri Ellsworth, tweeted back in February that she was fired from the company, we were disappointed but also intrigued by what she meant by "time for new exciting projects." Well we finally saw what she's been up to here at at Maker Faire 2013. It's called Cast AR, and it's a pair of 3D augmented-reality glasses that she and former Valve programmer Rick Johnson were working on at Valve before they left.

The model we saw is still in the early prototype stages, but the concepts are already in place. Perched atop a pair of active shutter glasses are a couple of miniature LCD projectors, which bounce images from a connected computer onto a special reflective surface at a 120Hz refresh rate. A camera module sits on the eyewear's bridge and monitors an array of infrared LEDs embedded in the reflective surface. This allows for quick and accurate head tracking. Join us after the break for our impressions and our video interview with Jeri Ellsworth.

Gallery: Cast AR hands-on at Maker Faire 2013

Filed under: Gaming, Wearables

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Get $100 off MAKE’s Hardware Innovation Workshop this May 14-15!

Posted on 05/05/2013 by Barb Dybwad

We come bearing tidings of good savings from our friends at MAKE: get $100 off the regular price of the second annual two-day workshop designed for makers turning their projects into real businesses. The Hardware Innovation Workshop kicks off at the College of San Mateo just before Maker Faire Bay Area on May 18-19, and features big names in the world of making and innovation as well as startups you haven't heard about -- yet. The workshop will focus on innovative tools and technology, platforms and projects and devices and designs based on open hardware.

Read on to find out who's speaking...

Filed under: Wearables

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Urine-powered generator produces six hours of electricity per bathroom break

Posted on 09/11/2012 by Mark Hearn

We've all heard the expression "haste makes waste," but how about waste making energy? At the fourth annual Maker Faire Africa in Lagos, Nigeria, a quartet of teenage girls ages 14 through 15 have created a urine-powered generator. This eco-friendly energy source cranks out six hours of electricity for every liter of human bodily fluid by separating the excretion's hydrogen with an electrolytic cell. While this method of human waste disposal seems promising, the device has the potential to be a pee-powered biobomb and will need more than its limited safety measures before you're able to pick one up at your local hardware store. However, if this can help us save a few bucks on our energy bill, then we need to introduce these girls to these guys posthaste.

Filed under: Science, Alt

Urine-powered generator produces six hours of electricity per bathroom break originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 08 Nov 2012 22:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Caption Contest: Maker Faire’s morning pick-me-up

Posted on 25/05/2012 by Brian Heater

Some mornings you just don't want to get out of bed. We've all got our own methods for starting the day, but few are quite so...electric...as this this one spotted at Maker Faire over the weekend. No doubt even Tesla himself couldn't have concocted a better way to shake oneself loose from a bad case of the Mondays.

Richard Lai: "Starbucks now brewing Electric Latte. Espresso with steamed milk and a dash of lightning, finished with a sprinkle of copper dust."
Darren Murph: "Jump Start kind of undersells things, no?"
Jon Fingas: "The best part of waking up is 10,000 volts in your cup."
Billy Steele: "The folks at Jolt Cola are not going to be happy about this."
Tim Stevens: "No, it's pronounced 'coffeen' not 'caffeine'!"
Terrence O'Brien: "Bobby's decision to learn Conjure Refreshment really started to pay dividends when his mage reached level 64"
Zach Honig: "Would you mind nuking this for me?"
Brian Heater: "Just another McDonald's lawsuit waiting to happen."
James Trew: "Electrici-Tea."
Dan Cooper: "Van De-Caff Generator."

Caption Contest: Maker Faire's morning pick-me-up originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 25 May 2012 18:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Maker Faire Bay Area 2012, in pictures: 3D printers, unicorns, tesla coils and zombies (video)

Posted on 22/05/2012 by Myriam Joire

Did you miss Maker Faire Bay Area 2012? Did you go but want to relive the experience a little? Well look no further: we came, we saw, we conquered. As one of our friends acutely observed, you couldn't throw something this year without hitting a 3D printer. Below you'll find pictures of said 3D printers, but also unicorns, Tesla coils and yes, even zombies (!) -- all lovingly curated from the hundreds of shots we took at the event this past weekend. Craving something with a bit more meat? We've made a convenient list of our Maker Faire posts. Once you're done digesting that, hit the break for our lovely video montage.

Gallery: Maker Faire Bay Area 2012

Continue reading Maker Faire Bay Area 2012, in pictures: 3D printers, unicorns, tesla coils and zombies (video)

Maker Faire Bay Area 2012, in pictures: 3D printers, unicorns, tesla coils and zombies (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 22 May 2012 02:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Electric Motor Werks hands-on at Maker Faire (video)

Posted on 22/05/2012 by Myriam Joire

Have a BMW 3-Series that requires major engine work? Want to convert it to electric and improve performance, ActiveE style? The folks at Electric Motor Werks have you covered. Instead of making purpose-built electric cars, the company -- which showed a converted 3-Series sedan and coupé at Maker Faire Bay Area 2012 -- provides affordable and environmentally responsible electric conversion kits for the BMW E46. These are available directly to consumers but Electric Motor Werks is also building a network of installers (via tuner / speed shops) and setting up its own facilities.

We chatted with founder Val Miftakhov who gave us a tour of the prototype kit in the vehicles on display, so head past the break for more information and for our hands-on video.

Gallery: Electric Motor Werks hands-on

Continue reading Electric Motor Werks hands-on at Maker Faire (video)

Electric Motor Werks hands-on at Maker Faire (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 22 May 2012 00:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Engadget Interview: Ben Heck talks Raspberry Pi at Maker Faire (video)

Posted on 21/05/2012 by Myriam Joire

It's really no surprise that we bumped into the legendary Ben Heck at Maker Faire Bay Area 2012. Still, he was kind enough to give us a few minutes of his time. We talked about the Raspberry Pi, robot luggage, portable 3D printers, pinball machines, pretzels and cheese curds -- oh my! Just take a look at our video interview and don't miss the outtakes at the end.

The Engadget Interview: Ben Heck talks Raspberry Pi at Maker Faire (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 21 May 2012 16:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hands-on with the MakerBot robot petting zoo at Maker Faire (video)

Posted on 21/05/2012 by Myriam Joire

A robot petting zoo at Maker Faire Bay Area 2012? What could possibly go wrong? Nothing, actually. The kids loved it -- only the robots cowered in fear (of being sat on). MakerBot spent eight weeks building four different species of robots using its Replicator 3D printer -- wheelies (robot chickens), bubble bots, button bots and bumper bots. Judging by the crowds the event was a complete success. We caught up with Michael Curry of MakerBot who told us how the robot petting zoo came to be and walked us through some of the robot specifics -- designs that should appear on the company's Thingiverse website by the end of the week. Next stop: Maker Faire New York. Are you ready for an invasion of cute robots? Find out in our hands-on video after the break.

Gallery: MakerBot robot petting zoo hands-on

Continue reading Hands-on with the MakerBot robot petting zoo at Maker Faire (video)

Hands-on with the MakerBot robot petting zoo at Maker Faire (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 21 May 2012 07:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Raspberry Pi hands-on and Eben Upton interview at Maker Faire (video)

Posted on 21/05/2012 by Myriam Joire

Unless you've been hiding under a rock lately, we're pretty sure you've heard about the Raspberry Pi by now -- a $25 credit-card sized PC that brings ARM/Linux to the Arduino form factor. As a refresher, the system features a 700MHz Broadcom BCM2835 SoC with an ARM11 CPU, a Videocore 4 GPU (which handles HD H.264 video and OpenGL ES 2.0) and 256MB RAM. The board includes an SD card slot, HDMI output, composite video jack, 3.5mm audio socket, micro-USB power connector and GPIO header. Model A ($25) comes with one USB port, while Model B ($35) provides two USB ports and a 100BaseT Ethernet socket. Debian is recommended, but Raspberry Pi can run most ARM-compatible 32-bit OSes.

This past weekend at Maker Faire Bay Area 2012 we ran into Eben Upton, Executive Director of the Raspberry Pi Foundation, and took the opportunity to spend some quality time with a production board and to discuss this incredible PC. We touched upon the origins of the system (inspired by the BBC Micro, one of the ARM founders' projects), Moore's law, the wonders of simple computers and upcoming products / ideas -- including Adafruit's Pi Plate and Raspberry Pi's prototype camera add-on. On the subject of availability, the company expects that "there will be approximately 200,000 units in the field by the end of June". Take a look at our hands-on gallery below and our video interview after the break.

Gallery: Raspberry Pi hands-on

Continue reading Raspberry Pi hands-on and Eben Upton interview at Maker Faire (video)

Raspberry Pi hands-on and Eben Upton interview at Maker Faire (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 21 May 2012 06:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hands-on with the Electric Imp at Maker Faire (video)

Posted on 21/05/2012 by Myriam Joire

Yesterday at Maker Faire Bay Area 2012 we visited the Electric Imp booth to chat with the startup's founders and get some hands-on time with the tiny wireless computer. What is the Electric Imp? It's a module containing an ARM Cortex M3 SoC with embedded WiFi that's built into an SD card form factor. While the device looks just like and SD card, it's not pin-compatible with the standard -- the idea is to leverage a reliable and affordable connector for the Electric Imp. The module is not very useful on its own -- it only comes to life when inserted into one of several boards, which provide the Electric Imp with power and access to the real world. In turn the device gives these boards a brain and an Internet connection. Eventually the company hopes that appliance manufacturers will incorporate Electric Imp slots into products to make them network aware.

We talked with CEO Hugo Fiennes (formerly with Apple) about the past, present and future of the Electric Imp so hit the break to read more and to watch our hands-on video.

Gallery: Electric Imp hands-on