Where do you get your project ideas or inspirations from?

[DakLak]

I always try to look for practical applications where the PicAXE can be applied. This doesn't mean a PicAXE in every project, my first choice is always discrete components, then intelligence as a second option.

Here in VietNam people buy motorcycles predominantly more than cars (100% import duty + 10%VAT) but they still want to gussy them up as people in the West do their cars. I have made a pretty packet manufacturing motorcycle 'bling' - engine disablers, alarms, electronic ignition conversion kits and "Night Rider" light sets (we buy our LEDs by weight here - a 60W headlight LED is about 9.80 Pounds).

There are needs over here. Solar-powered traffic lights, flood warning alarms, roof-top water tank controls, alarms, even coffee bean dryers. Increasingly solar water heating and electricity generation is coming in - all requiring controls.

Scanning old patents from the 1960-70-80 era is fertile ground - post-integrated circuit but pre-microprocessor.

I have recently developed an interest in robots, since a friend's son asked for help with a school project, I have been poking around NASA websites looking for ideas. They farm our projects to universities and universities LOVE to publish!

For multi-wheel drives I recommend Googling for Curiosity or MARS Rover - there are very detailed drawings on-line, many with measurements. I found coping the proportions of the 6-wheeled MARS Rover I found the design was more stanble than one I had made.

There is more research around a two-wheel plus tail vehicle called AXEL. Goes places, too, including hills and stairs.

Another interesting project that has become a commercial venture is the RHEX which has C-shaped 'flippers' and can run fast, climb rocks and stairs, even swim

Then there is PACKBOT that employs two sets of two tracks and can stand up to improve it's visibility.

Flipperbot is a work in progress that is being researched for crossing sand, desesrt, etc.

Hey, American tax dollars paid for this and most is in the public domain. Go take advantage of their generosity.

 

[Hemi345]

My daughters have been my inspiration lately. Latest project is a motion sensor that will send an alarm down to my bedroom at night via 433mhz modules if the littlest goes for the gate that is blocking the stairs. Not nearly as interesting as your current projects.

 

[bpowell]

My daughters have been my inspiration lately. Latest project is a motion sensor that will send an alarm down to my bedroom at night via 433mhz modules if the littlest goes for the gate that is blocking the stairs. Not nearly as interesting as your current projects.

LOL! I have little ones who get up at night as well...I'm going to be making a simple door sensor, that will send (via 433 mhz) a signal to my control box so I will know if a door is opened...fun times!

 

[MFB]

Anyone that's interested in the 'NASA Mars Rovers' should enjoy the book of the same title recently published by Haynes. In common with other titles in their 'Owner's Workshop Manual' series, there is more than the usual level of technical detail. The book is divided about equally between all past rovers and the current Curiosity mission. I found it a really good read.

 

[MFB]

An interesting item of information I have just found in the above book is that the Sojourner rover only used a single 8051 microcontroller. Just think what JPL could have done with a radiation hardened PICAXE 28X2!

 

[Markbishop16]

Here is a good idea

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXI4WWhPn-U

 

[John West]

Most of the projects in my life were inspired either by need for something I couldn't afford to buy, or by pure laziness on my part about something I didn't want to do, especially something I had to do over and over. I'd just think, "This is ridiculous! A small electronic circuit could do this, and better than I do it," as I was doing some mundane thing over and over. So I'd invent the circuit to do the job. Like I said, laziness.

 

[DirtBiker]

An interesting item of information I have just found in the above book is that the Sojourner rover only used a single 8051 microcontroller. Just think what JPL could have done with a radiation hardened PICAXE 28X2!

The 8051 was no slouch. With 64K of external addressing you could rack up an impressive amount of memory mapped I/O and memory, especially if you used memory paging. For example, if you used one byte of memory mapped I/O to switch between 256 32K blocks of memory you could address 8MB of ROM, then keep 24K for RAM and 8K for I/O ports (yes Martha, that's 8192 8-bit I/O ports). That 8K of I/O could be attached to ADC, DAC, serial, parallel, ...whatever. And they ran at 24mHz.

Now, I'm not too sure what they had configured in the Sojourner, but they could have had a very impressive system based around a single 8051 if they wanted to.

 

[John West]

But if I recall correctly, the 8051 had no analog input whatsoever, making it a purely ones and zeroes device that would have required a variety of peripherals in order to do what a PICAXE does on its own.

 

[MFB]

Point taken about the usefulness of the 8051. Its still around as the core of some pretty complex and highly integrated devices but the Sojourner used the original version that only ran at a few MHz and had very limited interface capabilities. However, it seems JPL had a few radiation hardened examples going spare.

 

[boriz]

Here is a good idea

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXI4WWhPn-U

Brilliant.

 

[DirtBiker]

But if I recall correctly, the 8051 had no analog input whatsoever, making it a purely ones and zeroes device that would have required a variety of peripherals in order to do what a PICAXE does on its own.

Correct.

It came with less built-in versatility than even an 08M2, but had the potential to do far, far more than a 40X2. But I think that goes with the territory. This might be seen as an unfair analogy, but comparing the original 8051 to a PICAXE is like comparing a human to a snake. The snake is capable of moving around with agility and feeding itself as soon as it hatches, the human has to be taught everything except breathing, making noise and suckling, but given the right 'add ons' the human is capable of so much more. A stretch, but it serves. The moral is, versatility and potential come at a price.

BTW, I love snakes...

 

[oracacle]

ideas pop into my head here there, some times it takes a while before various ideas assemble to complete each other - yeh my ideas over flow into each other, my train of thought is never strait, or simple.

 

[boriz]

I see ideas everywhere. I can't help it. It's like an illness. An uncontrollable flow of distractions gumming up my normal life. Occasionally I pick an idea from the flow and explore it, just as entertainment really. Very rarely will I actually start thinking about a design. Rarer still do I juggle any components or code. My years are littered with half explored ideas and incomplete projects. (My house too, much to the chagrin of the missus).

No. Ideas aren't a problem for me. It's all that tedious soldering that gets me down.

 

[Buzby]

... My years are littered with half explored ideas and incomplete projects.

I empathise with your situation, mine is somewhat similar.

My main enjoyment is in working out if and how something can be built, not building it.
I've got loads of bits of stripboard circuits, and dozens folders of program fragments, but not many finished projects.

For example, I spent a fair amount of money buying parts to do the 'Proof of Concept' E-ink project.
Now I've got a working E-ink, a brand new Arduino, and no idea what to do with them.
Other examples are the 'Program PICAXE by mobile phone', or 'Transfer prog via IR', or 'Complex sounds from an 08'.

Once I know that an idea will work I tend to lose interest and move on to something else.


EDIT [OT] Regarding the Mars rovers, here is an interesting picture that shows the progress over the last fifteen years. Sometimes I feel we don't have a proper understanding of the size of these machines, but this pic puts it in perspective. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FileIA15279_3rovers-stand_D2011_1215_D521.jpg

 

[ol boy]

I built a transmission controller for a late model Ford 4r70w trans. I used a 20x2. Like others said. Laziness drives innovation! Also did a remote air-conditioning controller for the back room of my fifth wheel trailer using the same 20x2. Now I just need to learn solid words CAD program better, I'd have the world by the balls!

Ryan

 

[DirtBiker]

Some recent projects in the last 6 months.

Pump controller with web interface for my well. Got this idea from someone else.

Another web interface project was a little web attached controller to reset my gateway/router at home. For this one I just got tired of running down to the basement every time the router got confused.

Hands free lap timer. My son is an off-road motorcycle racer. This project was to allow him to see if small changes in style and approach could help him improve lap times. It also records temperature to see the effect of varying temperature over the day on lap times. His bike is a 2-stroke and performance is heavily dependent on air temperature.

A bunch of smaller projects/experiments to get familiar with new devices. I do this very frequently and it probably takes up most of my hobby time. It also leads to inspiration. The two web based projects came to me after I had bought a ENC28J60 to play with. The lap timer after playing with photo transistors and thermistors. Once I had the skills, the projects became apparent. There is an old saying, chance favors the prepared mind.

 

[srnet]

Just think what JPL could have done with a radiation hardened PICAXE 28X2!

Just remember what was achieved on 20th July 1969.

I am sure that a 28X2 could have done the job, at something like one millionth of the cost and a £1 battery would have powered it for the whole mission.

Unfortunately for NASA it would be another 25 years or more before there was PCs available that could program the PICAXEs.

 

[Buzby]

Some recent projects in the last 6 months.

Pump controller with web interface for my well. I've not got a well.

Controller to reset my gateway/router at home. My router never gets confused.

Hands free lap timer. My son is an off-road motorcycle racer. My son's a drummer, and I've got an idea !. ( See new thread. )

A bunch of smaller projects/experiments to get familiar with new devices. I do this lots. In fact, most of my 'projects' are exploratory in some way.

Reading back over this thread it seem we PICAXErs either build practical stuff we need, or blue-sky stuff we are interested in, or sometimes both.

So let's give a big round of applause to Rev-Ed for producing such a versatile range of clever little chips !.