Building a Wi-Fi robot controller that accepts voice commands
RAS2025-07-07T20:41:54+00:00Arduino Team — July 7th, 2025 The whole point of a robot is that it can operate without direct control input from an operator. Except there are many exceptions and it isn’t uncommon for roboticists and operators to require direct control. The Tinkering Techie needed to add that capability to his rover robot and built his own Wi-Fi controller that also accepts voice commands. Conventional remote control (RC) vehicles communicate through analog radio. But it is...
Smart Plant Monitor
RAS2025-07-07T16:00:00+00:00This article appeared in Make: Vol. 90. Subscribe for more maker projects and articles! Until recently, I relied on the Xiaomi Mi Flora to monitor my indoor plants. While it provided useful plant care info, it had some interface limitations, requiring their specific app for configuration. One day, I noticed some missing data and suspected the battery had died. However, upon searching for the sensor, it was nowhere to be found. I organized a search party...
Episode #792 – Tiny Bradshaw
RAS2025-07-06T15:51:20+00:00Air Week: July 7-13, 2025
Tiny Bradshaw
Tiny Bradshaw put in his time, spending 16 years of making music with various big bands, including his own, without ever scoring a national hit. But when things turned around for the drummer, pianist, composer and bandleader, his star began to rise. He scored a #2 R&B smash with “Well Of Well” in 1950, just as he was beginning his 9 year association with Cincinnati’s King Records. This would be...July 6, 2025RASUncategorized1950s, instrumentals, Jump Blues, King Records, R&B, Rhythm & Blues, Uncategorized0 Comments
This automatic emergency braking system protects RC cars
RAS2025-07-03T19:53:13+00:00Arduino Team — July 3rd, 2025 It is a story as old as time (or at least the 1960s): kid gets an RC car for Christmas and excitedly takes it for spin, but crashes it into a wall within five minutes and tears ensue. The automotive industry has cut down on accidents by implementing automatic emergency braking safety features, so why can’t RC cars have something similar? They can and Narrow Studios proved it by creating...
Wall-E Wood
RAS2025-07-03T16:00:00+00:00This article appeared in Make: Vol. 90. Subscribe for more maker projects and articles! Expert woodworker Peter Vivian has been a maker for as long as he can remember. Building upon early success in a model-making competition at school, Vivian trained as a technical illustrator and spent the next two and a half decades in graphic design and commercial photography. Yet throughout that time, he yearned to have his own woodworking business, which he eventually launched...
OSHWA Healthware Highlight: OpenNerve
RAS2025-07-02T16:00:00+00:00This piece is part of a highlight series on OSHWA.org. We started this series by looking at COSMIIC and you cannot talk about them without mentioning their sister project, OpenNerve developed by the Center for Autonomic Nerve Recording and Stimulation Systems (CARRS). OpenNerve is the other project supported by the National Institute of Health, the US-based government organization that funds medical research. Both projects were selected as part of the SPARC grant...
Bandai Namco’s GoldStorm Pirates Disembarks Into Western Shores
RAS2025-07-01T19:59:40+00:00After its initial release in Japan and overseas launch at IAAPA 2024 late last year, Bandai Namco have now finally confirmed that their latest pirate themed game, GoldStorm Pirates, is about to ship out to Western locations across America and Europe. This one has been long anticipated by many of you, not least because it has been delayed a few times (an April/May release was originally quoted), so let’s ‘dive’ right into it!
GoldStorm Pirates...
Review: HOTO Tools
RAS2025-07-01T18:00:00+00:00Manufacturer: HOTO Price as tested: $30–$120 Link: hototools.com Here in Ann Arbor, we have an amazing library that lets you check out not only books, movies, and games, but even artwork, tools, and music gear. It was through this program that I first experienced the Teenage Engineering OP-1, a combination synthesizer, sampler, and multi-tracker that is intuitive to use and gorgeous to look at. Shortly after this, I acquired one of my own so that I didn’t have to keep waiting...
This unique electronic toy helps children learn their shapes
RAS2025-07-01T15:12:24+00:00Arduino Team — July 1st, 2025 It isn’t a secret that many kids find math to be boring and it is easy for them to develop an attitude of “when am I ever going to use this?” But math is incredibly useful in the real world, from blue-collar machinists using trigonometry to quantum physicists unveiling the secrets of our universe through advanced calculus. By engaging children early on in fun, intuitive ways, we can lay a...
