Silveira Neto » Sun Spot

SunSPOT Posters

Silveira — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 06:18:12 +0000

Some fellows asked for some Sun SPOT posters.

Here it is one that you can use to let people know about Project Sun SPOT.

Download the PNG with 200 dpi resolution or the SVG vetorial drawing. You can use a tool like Inkscape to open and edit the SVG file. You can change colors, images, texts and anything else.

If you need a poster to a presentation about Sun SPOT you can just print or edit this one:

Again, download a 200 pdi PNG file or the SVG vetorial drawing.

Good times with Sun SPOT. ;)

How Sun Spots are made

Silveira — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 04:30:10 +0000

Roger Meike from the Sun Microsystems Laboratories, took a camera to the factory where Sun Spots are made and bring to us this video.

If you are like me and loves those videos that shows how things are made, try searching for “how * made” at Youtube.

Walker Sphere

Silveira — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 03:43:18 +0000

For a while I’m thinking about this hardware project idea and now I’m opening here to get some opinions. After that maybe I’ll submit it for the Sun SPOT Open Grant Program.

What is Walker Sphere? Walker Sphere is a project to made an robot capable with a diferent aproach, without heels, mats, propellers or wings. The main idea is to move only changing its center of gravity.

How change its center of gravity?

It’s a sphere

with some compartments

and a Sun Spot.

One compartment is filled with a liquid. The liquid is pumped to another compartment and so the compartment got heavier and the sphere moves towards its direction.

Why a sphere? We can distribute the mass uniformly in a sphere and it’s shapes make it easier to roll. A sphere can encapsulates all components and protect them from the outside world and at the same time all sensors can work, especially using some transparent material for the bark.

Why Sun Spot? The Sun Spot have some advantages that fits perfectly in this project:

A broad set of sensors including accelerometers that made possible to know the current state of the sphere.
Radio communication that can make possible two or more spheres collaborate to achieve a common task.

Programmable using Java.
Open and Free Source JVM, Squawk.

It will be free? Yes. I’d like to know more about open and free licenses for hardware projects.

How to pump the liquid into the compartments? I don’t know. Have you some good idea?

Some random ideas:

A pressure device.
Something like an injection.
An Archimedes’ screw.
Not using a liquid, use something else.

I’m open for ideas, critics and suggestions. ;)

Sun SPOT Open Grant Program

Silveira — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 01:54:01 +0000

Dado o sucesso e a procura, o projeto Sun SPOT reabriu as portas para submissões de propostas de trabalhos com o Sun Spot para professores, alunos e hobistas. Você submete uma proposta de trabalho livre usando o Sun Spot e o projeto entra lhe doando os kits de Sun SPOT necessários. A idéia é criar projetos livres que possam ser reutilizados em futuros projetos livres.

As vantagens:

Acesso a um equipamento de tecnologia de ponta equipado com vários sensores e comunicação por wifi.
Trabalhar com um ramo novo da cultura livre: o hardware livre e aberto.
Criar um projeto inovador e quem sabe até inédito.
Ter apoio da comunidade do Sun Spot através dos vários fóruns e listas.

Você pode obter mais informações sobre o Sun SPOT Open Grant Program aqui ou aqui.

Eu estou pensando em algo para submeter, e você?