Here is the fifth video in Engineer Guy Series #4. The element of the week is cesium, as in “cesium fountain atomic clock.” Watching it, my jaw was on the floor by 0:20, as Bill opens by showing off the Symmetricom CSAC, which is the world’s first fully functional chip-scale atomic clock. It’s about the size of a quarter.
It’s absolutely incredible that the most accurate atomic clocks lose only about 1 second over 138 million years. But how exactly do they work? Bill Hammack, The Engineer Guy, explains the science behind these time-keeping marvels in his latest video.
Have you ever wanted your very own Street View camera to capture the places not yet covered by Google Maps? With this DIY Street View Kit from German designer Jan Martin, you can now map your favorite walking trail, camp site, or remote location. The kit can be mounted on a car or worn as a backpack and comes with a custom image processing server and player software.
Using an octocopter UAV and its 123D Catch software, CAD software maker Autodesk was able to capture a 3D model of its corporate headquarters in San Rafael, CA. The model itself was generated from aerial photos taken from the UAV and processed with their 123D photogrammetry software.
Folks have been speculating about Google’s foray into wearable computing for some time now. The wait is over. Google has released details about Project Glass, their super-secret augmented reality project that packs a rich visual interface inside a sleek wrap-around heads-up display unit.
Relays can do cool stuff when you hook them up to the Internet. Check out XDA member JsChiSurf demonstrate his Android controlled garage door opener. Using an old Linux box connected to a serial relay, he’s able to toggle his garage door opener using a custom app from his Android handset.
Tony asks:
I am really interested in learning about electronics and how to make kits and potentially make things with my kids. However, I am more creative than technical and I was wondering where would be a good book/kit/guide to start with. I am not an engineer and I don’t know anything about circuits, semiconductors or arduino. My dream would to be able to make a gadget i could put on my dog’s leash and it would transmit signals via gps/3g as to where he was if he ran away (which he manages to a lot).
