Most designers and engineers already know that Arduino is a powerful and versatile platform for creating electronics projects. Yet, knowing where to dive into learning about the powerful little computer isn’t quite so easy. From building robots to adding a little IoT intelligence into weekend projects, the Pay What You Want: 2018 Arduino Enthusiast E-Book Bundle is the perfect place to begin broadening your horizons in the world of Arduino. The project-based approach presented in the course teaches users how to create everything from DC motor controllers operated by a web page, slide switch, or touch sensors to constructing electronic operating status displays for just about anything. Best of all,…
It’s time for another round of apps that cover the spectrum of your beloved mobile device(s)! The Weekly App Smack is the best of new or updated design and productivity apps (and maybe a couple of fun ones, too) for the busy design or engineering professional and this week we have a list sure to make you more efficient. Do you have an app suggestion that has made your life easier or changed up your workflow? Let us know in the comments below or send it into tips@solidsmack.com. Hit it! Money Lover: Expense Tracker (iOS — Free) Managing finance shouldn’t be complicated and time-consuming, so Money Lover is the simplest finance…
Since its release in 1959, Henry Dreyfuss’ The Measure of Man and Woman: Human Factors in Design has been an invaluable resource for designers, engineers, architects, and anybody else responsible for shaping the manufactured world around us. The indispensable resource, which contains thorough and accurate measurements for children, teenagers, adult men and women, and those with physical handicaps, has allowed designers to accurately define the dimensions of their products to suit the immediate needs of their users. Additional data guidelines for the visually and hearing-impaired, as well as other differently abled individuals, have helped shape the standards for numerous government-defined disability acts. Suffice to say, this book is the real…
Get that stretch out of your system with this week’s Spotify-powered SolidSmack Radio Playlist. It’s fashioned up, ready to make you pull your shoulder blades back and knock out another week of meaningful work while you bob your head to the beat. Whether you’re in the shop milling aluminum, sketching the latest product prototypes or modeling up a 3D storm, consider these tracks as a tool for your process. This week on SolidSmack Radio we’ll get the groove going with “Can’t Nobody Love You” from The Zombies before diving into irresistible tracks from Yellow Days, Video Age, Spud Cannon, Strange Names, and others before wrapping up with “Night On the…
Introducing the newest Hollywood star about to shock audiences everywhere: The DJI Zenmuse X5S camera aboard the Inspire 2 drone in a film called The Ascension of Ava Delaine. Oh, and also the lead actress, director, and producer of this single-take, all mobile device-shot film, complete with multiple wardrobe changes: Tonya Kay. I had the pleasure of chatting with this seasoned performer and new director (Tonya, not the drone). As I imagine a lot of SolidSmack readers are, I was mostly unaware of how the cinema world works, but I was fascinated by Ms. Kay’s aggressive adoption of drone tech. Cinematographer and Drone Operator Andria Chamberlin was also kind enough…
A small edge was all but was left. We had plenty of rivets though, rivets and enough mech shards to till the thousand acre leek fields. Building back the launchpad would take time, of course, but the body’s internals we’re all intact. New armor and a blast shield would work better this time. This time, we would coat it all with these links. Laurent Palmier – The science fiction artist and illustrator has been busy this year churning out an enormous amount of new concept ships, rich with color and action. Going Home – A kind of Monument Valley feel, but a browser-based exploration in story-form which is a journey…