Connected Home

It’s no secret that technology is steadily advancing at a rapid pace, making having access to updated information an essential part of staying on top of trends. To help you stay informed, we’re sharing these blogs highlighting the amazing innovation taking place in the realm of connected home devices and IoT news! Our goal: to provide makers like yourself with relevant product releases, industry thinking, tips & tricks related to working on meaningful projects in these spaces – all accompanied by actionable advice along the way. Join us as we explore topics such as building smart homes powered by artificial intelligence-driven tech or transitioning analog operations into multi-device networks that allow data access anytime and anywhere.

An RFID Music Box Fit For A Child

An RFID Music Box Fit For A Child

By Caleb Kraft

Caleb Kraft

I get ridiculously excited seeing people make things. I just want to revel in the creativity I see in makers. My favorite thing in the world is sharing a maker's story. find me at CalebKraft.com

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Browsing around the internet, looking for cool laser cut projects to do while I’ve got a fancy laser cutter here for review, I found a very interesting looking music box posted to reddit. I thought the design was delightful. While I personally could do without the little figures with built-in RFID tags, this music box […]

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Doubling Down: Google’s AIY Endeavor Leads To A Brand New Board

Doubling Down: Google’s AIY Endeavor Leads To A Brand New Board

Billy Rutledge

By Billy Rutledge

Billy Rutledge

Billy Rutledge is the director of Google’s AIY and Coral teams.

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Google AI is committed to bringing the benefits of AI to everyone, and one of the ways we do this is by building tools to ensure that everyone can access AI. In 2016 I started AIY (do-it-yourself AI) as a new initiative from Google to help students and makers learn about AI through affordable, hands-on […]

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Hacking the Sonos Ikea Symfonisk Into a High Quality Speaker Amp

Hacking the Sonos Ikea Symfonisk Into a High Quality Speaker Amp

By Ben Hobby

Ben Hobby

Ben Hobby is a 18 year old maker (and destroyer) from Maryland. When he isn’t building 3D printers, CNC machines, electric scooters, or raiding yard sales, he studies mechanical engineering and music at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.

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As soon as I saw IKEA’s announcement for a $99 Sonos-powered Airplay speaker, I was excited for the possibilities its internals could bring. And oh boy, was I right to be. In this tutorial, I’ll show you how to whittle away the woefully inefficient compact speaker unit, and bring it to life on a pair […]

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Give Your Plants Some Emotion With A.P.E.X.

Give Your Plants Some Emotion With A.P.E.X.

By Caleb Kraft

Caleb Kraft

I get ridiculously excited seeing people make things. I just want to revel in the creativity I see in makers. My favorite thing in the world is sharing a maker's story. find me at CalebKraft.com

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I talk to my plants. Maybe I’m crazy, but I suspect that many of you do this too. In this project, you may be able to give your plants the ability to emote back just a little bit. A.P.E.X. is basically just a moisture sensor with some emojis as a display. It isn’t overly complicated, […]

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Alexa 9000 Brings A Space Odyssey To Your Home

Alexa 9000 Brings A Space Odyssey To Your Home

By Jonathan Gleich

Jonathan Gleich

Jonathan was a geek when geek was still a bad term. He earned the moniker stripping phone wire with his teeth when he was 6 years old (and it hurt when a phone call came in!). Before there was a World Wide Web, he was running a wildly popular BBS in NYC in the early 80’s. His Interest in computers came when he bought his first Apple ][ Computer and got hooked on the technology.

Jonathan became a Mac specialist in 1985 and is still one today.

He considers himself to be a inventor and Maker and is always looking for the next best thing. If it doesn’t exist, he’s making it.

Here is Jonathan as Zoltar, (built on his Segway) that won him first prize in the Mermaid Parade in Coney Island, NY.

[Photo By Roger Hagadone Used with Permission]

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Hey Alexa, please don’t murder us.

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How to Detect Hidden Cameras

How to Detect Hidden Cameras

Mike Senese

By Mike Senese

Mike Senese

Mike Senese is a content producer with a focus on technology, science, and engineering. He served as Executive Editor of Make: magazine for nearly a decade, and previously was a senior editor at Wired. Mike has also starred in engineering and science shows for Discovery Channel, including Punkin Chunkin, How Stuff Works, and Catch It Keep It.

An avid maker, Mike spends his spare time tinkering with electronics, fixing cars, and attempting to cook the perfect pizza. You might spot him at his local skatepark in the SF Bay Area.

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Be aware of what might be peeping on you

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