I’ve been looking around life for inspiration on things I can make with hardware and they all involve some kind of software, which I find funny. I’ve made a full circle right back to where I started in robotics. That’s part of the reason I ended up so deep in software. There was a point I had a deep understanding of the hardware and how to make things, but I was lacking in software skills. Now the scale’s tipped in the other direction and I’m finding that balance for the first time.

Some initial thoughts

I have a bunch of random robot bits around the house that I’ve collected for projects I never started over the years. There are:

• the brain and muscle sensors
• a couple of Arduino kits with a number of different electronic components
• some motors
• some cameras and sound sensors
• an RC controller
• a soldering iron and an anti-static mat
• a bag of assorted sensors, controllers, and other stuff

So I was thinking about problems I have that I could use these things and maybe some new components for.

• I have a tiny garden and after I got the rabbits and squirrels to stay out, the birds came. Maybe I could make something for that?
• Then I was walking around looking at power lines and one of my big ambitions of wireless power transmission came to mind.
• There was a time where I was really interested in BCI (brain-computer interface) applications. It seems like there’s been some progress made in that area over the past 3 years so I might get back to that. Something, something cyborgs/robot suits.
• Biometrics have been an interest to me too. Being able to figure out what’s going on with our bodies without needing a bunch of medical experience and equipment would change a lot of things for people.
• I still wouldn’t mind making my Roomba-styled lawnmower with the RC controller. 🤷🏾‍♀️

Making something work

To get started, I’m going to go through some cool Arduino projects to refresh on how to really work with hardware. Then once I get through a few of these I’ll work on something original. There were days I would spend hours browsing sites like Sparkfun, Adafruit, Servocity, Ultraleap, and my most favorite company, OpenBCI.

Later on, I’m pretty sure I’ll get a 3D printer to help make other components I know I’ll need.

Most likely I’ll start with an automated mini turret because that’s been on my list of things to make for years. It’s going to be fun re-learning C++ with projects that I can use in my regular life. I can’t wait to see if there are any major differences between how code changes are tracked between pure software apps and hardware/software apps. It’s a whole different community with so many different expectations and skills.

It’s incredible how much inspiration you can find once you start trying a little something. Going back to hardware has been uncomfortable for me because I’ve been away from it for so long. But now that I’m literally dusting off the things I have on a shelf from the past ~10 years, it’s bringing back some memories of the ambitions I had before. Let’s see where it goes now with a ton more experience.