community news
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Google's Gemma 4 E2B Runs Locally on Robot Duck Google For Developers recently came up with a practical demonstration of their multimodal AI model, Gemma 4 E2B, running entirely on-device on two robotic ducks built by independent maker Antoine Pirrone. The demo is called “Gemma Playground: Robot Duck” as the goal of it is to exhibit the capabilities of Gemma with the help of the robot ducks as a demonstration… |
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The Future of Screens Might Be a Contact Lens What if the next generation of wearable technology doesn't sit in your pocket or on your face, but directly on your eye? Dubai-based startup XPANCEO has already developed over 28 working prototypes of smart contact lens and recently showcased five of them at the MWC 2026 event. These futuristic lenses integrate advanced micro-displays, holographic optics, highly sensitive biosensors, and built… |
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Open-Source MoCap Camera Rivals Hollywood Tech The YouTube creator Matt has developed an impressive open-source motion capture (MoCap) camera system that delivers professional-level 3D tracking at a much lower cost than existing commercial solutions. The project uses 16 custom-built infrared cameras that work together to capture and process more than four billion pixels every second. These cameras can track… |
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Inside a DIY EMF Generator Built from 12000 Turns of Wire and a Marx Generator A homemade EMF generator built around a Marx generator and custom transformer offers an interesting look at the science behind electromagnetic interference. A maker on YouTube known as Skill Make has showcased an experimental high-voltage electromagnetic pulse generator built using a combination of a custom transformer, a Marx generator, and a directional antenna coil. The project explores how… |
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Moody Mush: DIY Interactive Mushroom Robot That Follows Your Touch Moody Mush is an interactive, mushroom‑shaped robot built by SayaNIGHT. It has three modes of operation. In Mode 1, it functions as a desk lamp; the LEDs and cap (the head portion) are controlled with an IR remote. In Mode 2, the LED colors are adjustable with the same remote, but the robot also reacts to touch. Different movements and sounds occur depending on the type of touch (a short touch… |
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Repurposing a Wear OS Smartwatch as a Smart Gear Shift Display A DIY maker has repurposed an old smartwatch into a custom gear knob with an integrated display. Instead of letting the aging smartwatch collect dust, the project reuses its display, sensors, and processing hardware inside a 3D-printed gear shifter housing. The result is a unique modification that displays the vehicle's current gear position directly on the gear lever itself. What I… |
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Pala Note - a Pocket-Sized AI Voice Note Device Many of us have experienced the frustration of having a great idea and then forgetting it moments later. While smartphones can help capture those thoughts, they often come with a different problem: distractions. That's the challenge maker and developer Paul Lagier set out to solve with his latest project, the Pala Note, a compact AI-powered voice note device designed to work as a personal "… |
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PolyCast5 Combines Wi-Fi, LoRa, Bluetooth, IR, and ESP-NOW on an ESP32-C5 Platform If carrying a TV remote, a smart home controller, a password manager, a wireless keyboard, and a long-range IoT transmitter sounds excessive, the PolyCast5 aims to combine all of them into a single handheld device. Built around the ESP32-C5 microcontroller, the open-source gadget brings together five wireless technologies Infrared (IR), dual-band Wi-Fi, LoRa, Bluetooth 5.0/BLE, and ESP-… |
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Life-Sized Animatronic Goddard Robot Maker and YouTuber Kiara from Kiara's Workshop recently created an impressive, fully functional real-life version of Goddard, the iconic robot dog from the cartoon The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius. The robot dog features moving parts, including corrugated tube-like legs that compress using four linear actuators mounted inside them, a cable-driven neck that can look up/down and turn… |
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Five-Servo Bipedal Robot Walks and Self-Balances on a Budget A maker has built a two-legged walking robot using just five RC servos, an ESP32 microcontroller, and 3D-printed parts, making it the third entry in a series of accessible open-source robot designs. The project follows earlier builds in the same series: a mini robot dog and a hexapod. The creator set two design requirements: the robot must actively balance as it walks, and it must lift its… |
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DIY LEGO RC WALL-E Robot Using ESP32 and a PS4 Controller The main part of the project is a LEGO RC WALL-E itself. He initially planned to use a FlySky controller and its remote, but later switched to a PS4 controller as it is much more compact and offers more controls. He used an ESP32 as the receiver. After some research, he decided to use the Bluetooth functionality of the ESP32 for communication. Two N20 motors along with an L298N motor driver… |
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Flipper One Wants to Build an Open Linux Cyberdeck With Community Help Flipper Devices has officially stepped beyond the world of pocket-sized hacking tools with the introduction of Flipper One, a new open-source Linux cyberdeck designed for networking, SDR experimentation, portable computing, and local AI workloads. Unlike the Flipper Zero, which focused on low-level wireless protocols and embedded systems. Flipper One is being built as a far more capable and… |
