Have you ever tired of playing with your latest robot invention and wished you could just eat it? Well, that’s exactly what a team of researchers is investigating. There is a fully funded research initiative (not an April Fools’ joke, as far as we know) delving into the possibilities of edible electronics and mechanical systems used in robotics. The team, led by EPFL in Switzerland, combines food process engineering, printed and molecular electronics, and soft robotics to create fully functional and practical robots that can be consumed at the end of their lifespan. While the concept of food-based robots may seem unusual, the potential applications in medicine and reducing waste during food delivery are significant driving factors behind this idea.

The Robofood project (some articles are paywalled!) has clearly made some inroads into the many components needed. Take, for example, batteries. Normally, ingesting a battery would result in a trip to the emergency room, but an edible battery can be made from an anode of riboflavin (found in almonds and egg whites) and a cathode of quercetin, as we covered a while ago. The team proposed another battery using activated charcoal (AC) electrodes on a gelatin substrate. Water is split into its constituent oxygen and hydrogen by applying a voltage to the structure. These gasses adsorb into the AC surface and later recombine back into the water, providing a usable one-volt output for ten minutes with a similar charge time. This simple structure is reusable and, once expired, dissolves harmlessly in (simulated) gastric fluid in twenty minutes. Such a device could potentially power a GI-tract exploratory robot or other sensor devices.

But what use is power without control? (as some car tyre advert once said) Microfluidic control circuits can be created using a stack of edible materials, primarily oleogels, like ethyl cellulose, mixed with an organic oil such as olive oil. A microfluidic NOT gate combines a pressure-controlled switch with a fluid resistor as the ‘pull-up’. The switch has a horizontal flow channel with a blockage that is cleared when a control pressure is applied. As every electronic engineer knows, once you have a controlled switch and a resistor, you can build NOT gates and all the other logic functions, flip-flops, and memories. Although they are very slow, the control components are importantly edible.

Edible electronics don’t feature here often, but we did dig up this simple edible chocolate bunny that screams when you bite it. Who wouldn’t want one of those?

If you want to read something from magnetic tape, you need a tape head, right? Or you could do like [Igor Brichkov] and make your own. It looks surprisingly simple. He used a washer with a small slot cut in it and a coil of wire.

The first experiment, in the first video below, is using a commercial tape head connected to a preamp. Music playing “through” the homemade head is readable by the commercial tape reader. This is a prelude to creating an entire tape deck using the head, which you can see in the second video below.

The homemade deck is a collection of small protoboards along with some hodgepodge components, a Bluetooth board, and aluminum foil shielding. One of the protoboards has a simple VU meter using eight LEDs.

We aren’t sure what possessed [Igor] to want to make a tape deck, and — to be fair — it looks like he borrowed the transport mechanism from a commercial player. But we never really need an excuse to build something cool, so we appreciate him sharing his DIY tape deck with us and the world.

If you want to know just about anything related to tape decks, we have some suggested reading for you. If you have trouble finding parts for your cassette collection, maybe fire up your 3D printer.

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Tiny Tapout is an interesting project, leveraging the power of cloud computing and collaborative purchasing to make the mysterious art of IC design more accessible for hardware hackers. [Yeo Kheng Meng] is one such hacker, and they have produced their very first custom IC for use with their retrocomputing efforts. As they lament, they left it a little late for the shuttle run submission deadline, so they came up with a very simple project with the equivalent behaviour of the Covox Speech Thing, which is just a basic R-2R ladder DAC hanging from a PC parallel port.
The computed gate-level routing of the ASIC layout
The plan was to capture an 8-bit input bus and compare it against a free-running counter. If the input value is larger than the counter, the output goes high; otherwise, it goes low. This produces a PWM waveform representing the input value. Following the digital output with an RC low-pass filter will generate an analogue representation. It’s all very simple stuff. A few details to contend with are specific to Tiny Tapout, such as taking note of the enable and global resets. These are passed down from the chip-level wrapper to indicate when your design has control of the physical IOs and is selected for operation. [Yeo] noticed that the GitHub post-synthesis simulation failed due to not taking note of the reset condition and initialising those pesky flip-flops.

After throwing the design down onto a Mimas A7 Artix 7 FPGA board for a quick test, data sent from a parallel port-connected PC popped out as a PWM waveform as expected, and some test audio could be played. Whilst it may be true that you don’t have to prototype on an FPGA, and some would argue that it’s a lot of extra effort for many cases, without a good quality graphical simulation and robust testbench, you’re practically working blind. And that’s not how working chips get made.

If you want to read into Tiny Tapeout some more, then we’ve a quick guide for that. Or, perhaps hear it direct from the team instead?

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[Dan Schnur] has a simple strategy to ensure their business card stays on the client’s desk and doesn’t just get lobbed in a drawer: make it into a simple gaming platform. This entry into the 2024 Business Card Challenge is based around the tinyjoypad project, integrating an SSD1306 OLED display, joypad, and push button.

Powered by the superstar ATTiny85, the electronics are really not all that much, just a sprinkling of passives to support the display and the six switch inputs from the joystick and push button. Or at least, that’s how much we can glean from the PCB images, as the PCB design files are not provided in the project GitHub.

Leaving the heavy lifting of the software to the tinyjoypad project, the designer can concentrate on the actual job at hand and the reason the business card exists to stay at the forefront of the client’s mind. In the meantime, the card can be a useful distraction for those idle moments. A few such distractions include a tiny version of Missile Command (as shown above), tiny tris, and a very cut-down Q-bert. Sadly, that last game isn’t quite the same without that distinctive sound.

Dopo la rivoluzione del 25 aprile 1974, il 2 maggio, con questo gesto, José P. Maia (1943-2013) ha dimostrato le potenzialità dell'occupazione collettiva e ha dato voce a una lotta che continua. Tanta gente senza casa, tante case senza gente.

Murale fotografato a Lisbona, agosto 2014.

Ilaria Salis è stata eletta al Parlamento Europeo dopo che il giorno precedente l'apertura dei seggi le gazzette l'hanno ritratta come una occupante abusiva di abitazioni. Uno dei peggiori stigmi che il gazzettaio "occidentalista" riesca a gettare.
Dopo qualche giorno dall'elezione Ilaria Salis ha fatto circolare questo scritto. Come nostro uso lo si riporta perché urta chi merita quantomeno di essere urtato. Dobbiamo anche lodare la concretezza della scrivente e il suo non ricorrere al linguaggio inclusivo.

Sì, lo confesso!
Sono stata una militante del movimento di lotta per la casa che negli anni ha dato battaglia sul tema del diritto all'abitare, a Milano e in tutta Italia.
Se qualcuno pensava di fare chissà quale scoop scavando nel mio passato, è solo perché è sideralmente lontano dalla realtà sociale di tale movimento, che si compone di decine di migliaia di abitanti delle case popolari e attivisti, i quali, per aver affermato il semplice principio di avere un tetto sulla testa, sono incappati in qualche denuncia.
Sarebbe auspicabile che l'informazione, piuttosto che gettare fango sul mio conto, si dedicasse al contesto di grave povertà e precarietà abitativa nel quale si ritrovano ampie fasce di popolazione.
Le pratiche collettive dell'occupazione di case sfitte, il blocco degli sfratti, la resistenza agli sgomberi, gli sportelli di ascolto e la lotta per la sanatoria rappresentano un'alternativa reale e immediata all’isolamento sociale e alla guerra tra poveri, strumentalizzate tanto dalle forze politiche razziste quanto dal racket.
Dare una risposta concreta al bisogno dell'abitare significa non solo trovare qui e ora una soluzione, benché precaria e provvisoria, ad una questione lasciata irrisolta dalla politica istituzionale, ma anche indicare una prospettiva politica di trasformazione delle condizioni materiali di vita nel segno della giustizia sociale.
E' con grande orgoglio, dunque, che rivendico di aver fatto parte di questo movimento e di continuare a sostenerlo!
Voglio anche fare chiarezza sulla mia situazione.
Come è stato ampiamente sbandierato sui media di destra, Aler reclama un credito di 90.000 euro nei miei confronti come "indennità" per la presunta occupazione di una casa in via Giosuè Borsi a Milano, basandosi esclusivamente sul fatto che nel 2008 sono stata trovata al suo interno. Sebbene nei successivi sedici anni (!) non siano mai stati svolti ulteriori controlli per verificare la mia permanenza, né sia mai stato avviato alcun procedimento civile o penale a mio carico rispetto a quella casa, Aler contabilizza tale credito e non si fa scrupolo a renderlo pubblico tramite la stampa il giorno prima delle elezioni.
Un gran numero di individui e famiglie, spesso prive dei mezzi necessari per reagire adeguatamente, sono tormentate da richieste infondate di questo genere. Il totale dei crediti contabilizzati da Aler ammonta infatti ad oltre 176 milioni di euro! La pratica di richiedere esose "indennità di occupazione" agli inquilini, basata su presupposti a dir poco incerti, è una strategia utilizzata sistematicamente per spaventare gli occupanti e tentare di fare cassa.
Mentre molte, troppe persone non vedono garantito il proprio diritto all'abitare e non hanno alternative dignitose se non occupare - in una della città con gli affitti più cari, ricordiamolo sempre -, l'ente che dovrebbe tutelare questo diritto sembra essere più interessato a criminalizzare il movimento di lotta per la casa e gli inquilini piuttosto che a trovare soluzioni concrete.
Nei prossimi giorni condividerò alcuni dati e spunti di riflessione sulla questione abitativa a Milano e in Italia.
Ringrazio Libero & co. per avermi servito questo assist per riportare l'attenzione mediatica su un tema che mi sta molto a cuore, perché così cruciale per le classi popolari e i giovani.

MAI PIÙ GENTE SENZA CASA, MAI PIÙ CASE SENZA GENTE!

The week gone by was rich with fun hacks, and Elliot and Dan teamed up this time around to run them down for everyone. The focus this week seemed to trend to old hardware, from the recently revived Voyager 1 to a 1940s car radio, a homebrew instrument from 1979, a paper tape reader, and a 128k Mac emulator built from an RP2040.

Newer hacks include a 3D-printed bottle labeler, a very hackable smart ring, and lessons learned about programming robots. We also took a look at turning old cell phones into Linux machines, making sure climbing ropes don’t let you down, and snooping on orbital junk with a cool new satellite.

We wrapped things up with a discussion of just how weird our solar system is, and Dan getting really jealous about Tom Nardi’s recent trip to see the battleship New Jersey from an up close and personal perspective.

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Episode 276 Show Notes:

News:

• 2024 Business Card Contest
• Voyager 1 Once Again Returning Science Data From All Four Instruments

What’s that Sound?

• Galaga: Congrats to [DrJon] for guessing it right. With exclamation points.
• Don’t get caught playing at work

Interesting Hacks of the Week:

• New Part Day: A Hackable Smart Ring
  
  • Bluetooth Ring Hacking, OTA Firmware upload – YouTube
  • GitHub – atc1441/ATC_RF03_Ring: Findings and custom firmware for the Colmi R02 (and similar) Smart Ring with RF03 BlueX SoC

  
  

• A Brief Look Inside A Homebrew Digital Sampler From 1979
  
  • Homebrew Circuit Explores The Mysteries Of Analog-to-Digital Conversion
  • Ask Hackaday: How Do You Make Front Panels?

  
  

• PostmarketOS Now Boots On Over 250 Devices
  
  • Lindroid Promises True Linux On Android
  • Ask Hackaday: Why Aren’t We Hacking Cellphones?
  • Dan’s mom’s “danger pillow” phone

  
  

• When Your Rope Is Your Life
• Probably The Cheapest Mac Emulation Hardware
• Programming Robots Is Hard, Figuring Out How To Make It Easier Is Harder

Quick Hacks:

• Elliot’s Picks
  
  • Harmonic Table Keyboard Brings Old Idea Back To Life
  • Astroscale’s ADRAS-J Satellite Takes Up-Close Photo Of Discarded Rocket Stage
  • 3D Printing A Bottle Labeling Assembly Line

  
  

• Dan’s Picks:
  
  • Use Your Thinkpad X1 Tablet’s Keyboard Standalone
  • A 1940s Car Radio Receives Some Love
  • Homebrew Reader Brings Paper Tape Programs Back To Life

  
  

Can’t-Miss Articles:

• The Solar System Is Weirder Than You Think
• Taking A Look Underneath The Battleship New Jersey
  
  • Megalophobia (Fear of Large Objects): Symptoms & Treatment

  
  

Nuovo disco per il gruppo italo svizzero degli Houstones, dal titolo "A + C", in uscita per Soppressa Records, Collettivo Dotto e Entes Anomicos. @Musica Agorà

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Houstones - A + C

Houstones - A + C - Nuovo disco per il gruppo italo svizzero degli Houstones, dal titolo "A + C", in uscita per Soppressa Records, Collettivo Dotto e Entes Anomicos. - Houstones

^{Massimo Argo (In Your Eyes ezine)}

Uno scritto davvero interessante, prepotente e sincero senza freni e rivelatore, per uno scrittore fra i più interessanti dello spaghetti weird. @L’angolo del lettore

iyezine.com/michele-borgogni-t…

Michele Borgogni - Terror Supermarket

Michele Borgogni - Terror Supermarket - Terror Supermarket: Michele Borgogni iper realista e descrive cosa potrebbe succedere in un supermercato se cadessero le flebili barriere ipocrite - Terror Supermarket

^{Massimo Argo (In Your Eyes ezine)}

Questo Memories Have Faces esce a quasi dieci anni di distanza da Inside Out Your Mind, ultimo vagito su trentatré della band, dimostrandosi, a mio modesto avviso, ancora superiore al suo già di per sé brillantissimo predecessore;  a riprova, se mai ce ne fosse bisogno, di come passione, competenza e sacro fuoco non abbandonino chi di certe sonorità si è reso uno dei più credibili e quotati alfieri.

@Musica Agorà

iyezine.com/the-loons-memories…

The Loons - Memories Have Faces

The Loons - Memories Have Faces - The Loons - Dream In Jade Green - The Loons

^{Il Santo (In Your Eyes ezine)}

Ad ulteriore dimostrazione di quanto ho scritto in occasione delle sue precedenti uscite, i nove pezzi di questo nuovo album si aprono con suggestioni tra il deserto e lo spazio infinito di Dirty Ground passando poi all'andamento doloroso di Light the Incense.
@Musica Agorà

iyezine.com/black-snake-moan-l…

Black Snake Moan - Lost In Time 

Black Snake Moan - Lost In Time  - Black Snake Moan - Lost In Time: - Black Snake Moan

^{Il Santo (In Your Eyes ezine)}

“The healer” su Thrill Jockey Records è il quinto disco sulla lunga distanza per i Sumac, gruppo di punta del rumorismo e della totale libertà musicale. Il gruppo formato da Nick Yacyshyn, Brian Cook e Aaron Turner torna a disegnare ardite parabole nei consumati cieli della musica moderna. @Musica Agorà

iyezine.com/sumac-the-healer

Sumac - The healer

Sumac - The healer - Sumac: una delle più particolari e meravigliose esperienze sonore che possiate compiere in questi tempi aridi. - Sumac

^{Massimo Argo (In Your Eyes ezine)}