I just found out that a Moana sequel will be released this November! The original is definitely a heavy hitter with the young ones in my life and the soundtrack is indisputably catchy. I’m curious to see what they do with the sequel (Disney sequels are usually a step down, but now always. Frozen 2 is great! And Inside Out 2!). I’m feeling hopeful! Anyway, in the meantime, I’m thinking back to this awesome 2023 project from Erin St Blaine.
Moana Glowing Heart of Te Fiti Necklace
Create your own Heart of Te Fiti necklace and make it glow using a coin cell battery and Adafruit’s nOOds – little glowing noodles of light.
nOOds are very cool. They’re little silicone-coated strands of teeny tiny LEDs. They’re extremely flexible and easy to use. One nOOd works from a single coin-cell battery, with no microcontrollers or noisy inverters needed. These things are absolutely perfect for tiny, self-contained costume pieces. Add some magic to someone special’s day!
See more project details here in the Adafruit Learn System.
The Python for Microcontrollers Newsletter is the place for the latest news involving Python on hardware (microcontrollers AND single board computers like Raspberry Pi).
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A cute Pi friend from Adam Frydrych on Hackster.io. To acheive the compact size some hacking was required. Another unique feature is utilzing the PlayStation Eye for a cheap microphone array.
My AI assistant uses a similar approach to other, successful voice recognition systems (namely Rhasspy). In my case, however, the Raspberry Pi 4B runs a voice recognition software (called VOSK) locally and interfaces with a large language model hosted on one of my PCs through an OpenAI-compliant API endpoint (Ollama). Thanks to NordVPN’s Meshnet I can, and actually do, that from anywhere in the world.
The GitHub repository can be found here: https://github.com/RoseyWasTaken/ASR-AI
Looking to experiment more with AI friends? checkout the Infinite Text Adventure or Python Edge Speech Recognition with Voice2JSON on the Adafruit Learning center
Each Friday is PiDay here at Adafruit! Be sure to check out our posts, tutorials and new Raspberry Pi related products. Adafruit has the largest and best selection of Raspberry Pi accessories and all the code & tutorials to get you up and running in no time!
It’s JOHN PARK’S WORKSHOP — LIVE! — Coming up at 4pm ET / 1pm PT Today! LIVE TEXT CHAT IS HERE in the Adafruit Discord chat!
Today’s project: DOOM Keyboard progress: hint, it all runs from flash now!
Also:
The live video will be on Youtube LIVE, Twitch, Periscope (Twitter) and Facebook.
Join maker John Park in his workshop each week as he builds, demos, hacks, and mods projects live on air! “John Park’s Workshop — LIVE” is the place to see creative projects come to life, as John uses a wide variety of tools and techniques to make everything from video game controllers to synthesizer to drink robots, using digital fabrication, hand and power tools, microcontrollers, and more. Come on into the chat to participate in the fun! Every Thursday @ 4pm ET/1pm PT!
The New York Public Library will be hosting BroadwayWorld’s Richard Ridge Presents Theater Poster Art. Ridge will discuss the history and artistry of some fascinating theater posters on September 30th.
Theater posters and window cards broadcast to the public what was playing at a particular theater, and the art depicted in them has its own fascinating history and visual language. Richard Ridge of BroadwayWorld discusses the artistry of these Broadway theater posters and window cards, and highlights the work of Tom Morrow, David Edward Byrd, Robert W. Richards, Hilary Knight, and so many others.
Ridge will be joined by theater poster designers Frank “Fraver” Verlizzo, James McMullan, and Paul Davis plus author Nicholas van Hoogstraten with rare images from his upcoming book Broadway Poster Art.
Photo Credit: Poster art of “Sweeney Todd” by Frank “Fraver” Verlizzo, “Pirates of Penzance” by Paul Davis, and “My Fair Lady” by James McMullan.
Every Tuesday is Art Tuesday here at Adafruit! Today we celebrate artists and makers from around the world who are designing innovative and creative works using technology, science, electronics and more. You can start your own career as an artist today with Adafruit’s conductive paints, art-related electronics kits, LEDs, wearables, 3D printers and more! Make your most imaginative designs come to life with our helpful tutorials from the Adafruit Learning System. And don’t forget to check in every Art Tuesday for more artistic inspiration here on the Adafruit Blog!
What has Star Wars revealed so far about the history of the Mandalorians? Screen Rant shares what we know about the mysterious warriors.
The Mandalorians have become one of the most significant cultures in the Star Wars franchise, with new stories revealing more about their history. Following Boba Fett’s debut in The Empire Strikes Back, the original Star Wars Expanded Universe created a whole society of warriors who wore the same kind of armor, dating back thousands of years before the movies. While Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones retconned Boba Fett’s backstory, it presented an opportunity to expand on Mandalorian society through his father, Jango Fett.
Everyone is lapping up the Apple news today but DIY Perks is making their new Apple gear. They built the worlds largest iPhone. Based around a 88″ OLED TV, their first challenge was adding a touch layer to the screen. Check it out! they did not cut corners [$$] in this build!
This is the hardest project that I’ve designed and built – it took a LOT of work, pushing me to breaking point several times over 3 months. It only reached completion thanks to the support of my family and a one week ‘crunch time’ at the end with Lamar and Jozef from Arun’s team (the video as presented isn’t actually chronological; the screen wasn’t complete until just before delivery!). So I’d just like to say a huge THANK YOU to everyone who helped get it over the line, and particularly to my dad who helped me the most when things got tight. I’m very grateful to have this as my job, despite the challenges, so I also want to thank each and every one of you for being interested in my projects!
Did you know you can Program CircuitPython USB Devices with iPhone & iPad?
Adafruit is proud to once again run our Distributor Spotlight series, highlighting the invaluable role our distributor network plays in bringing our products to a global market. From retail brick-and-mortar stores to customers on every continent, our distributors ensure that Adafruit is able to reach diverse sectors and communities.
Today we are highlighting BricoGeek
Your online store for Arduino, Raspberry Pi, Robotics and Electronics to create your DIY and IOT projects.
BricoGeek had this to say about working with Adafruit:
We’ve been fans of Limor since she was in the studio hand-soldering boards. Her dedication to open source and attention to detail, as well as the documentation she provides for all her products, has revolutionized the Maker industry.
And here are some more links for BricoGeek if you’d like to learn more:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@bricogeekcom
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bricogeek
Check out their shop here.
We’ve got so much happening here at Adafruit that it’s not always easy to keep up! Don’t fret, we’ve got you covered. Each week we’ll be posting a handy round-up of what we’ve been up to, ranging from learn guides to blog articles, videos, and more.
Vote for the logo we’ll use at the Adafruit Floppy Disk Gallery!
Adafruit has moved to our new factory at Industry City, Brooklyn – NY, and one of the things we’re really looking forward to is the extra space for some things we’ve wanted to do for awhile (like the Ada Lovelace mural) …. AND the Adafruit Floppy Disk Gallery!
We have 3 logos we’re considering, we made a poll on X (Twitter) head over the and vote for 1, 2, or 3. You can also post up in the comments. We’ll post the logos on social media in other places too and folks can comment with their vote as well.
More BLOG:
USB C Power Delivery is terrific — your compatible devices can request the proper voltage from a PD power supply. But you know what’s even cooler? Telling your supply exactly which voltage you want so you can drive all sorts of DC powered gizmos without searching around for wall warts!
This project shows you how to build an interface to communicate with your PD supply as well as display the current usage of your devices. It uses an ESP32-S2 Reverse TFT Feather running CircuitPython plus two I2C breakouts — the INA291 and HUSB238 for current measurement and voltage selection (such as 5V, 9V, 12V, 15V, & 20V).
This is a plug-and-play project — no soldering required! Build it on a swirly grid and encase it in an optional 3D printed enclosure.
More LEARN
Browse all that’s new in the Adafruit Learning System here!
There’s a chill in the air and it might not be a September breeze. Book Riot shares some new science fiction to cozy up to this autumn that have been translated from other languages. So check out the list and meet some new authors this autumn.
I’ve got a lot of new releases for you this week. As usual, a lot of books are coming in hot after a holiday weekend that’s also the start of a new month. Whew! For recommendations, we’ve got a theme, too: new releases that are SFF in translation. I’m particularly excited that one of the books is from an Icelandic author; they’ve got a vibrant SFF writing tradition, and I feel like we don’t get to see a whole lot of that work translated. Stay safe out there, space pirates, and I’ll see you on Friday
Our RP2350 Feather design is finally inching closer to release in the adafruit shop – having fixed a clock delay bug that was causing 50% of our boards to not boot, we’ve now got the tester working well and able to program and test boards in about 8 seconds. Now that we know the hardware is in good shape, we’ll fabricate more and get this first set of 150 pieces into the shop. sign up to get first dibs! Sign up here and video.
No matter what serial-esque protocol you need to interface with, this USB to Multi-Protocol Serial adapter cable will be able to get this-connected-to-that. It supports RS232 serial, TTL UART serial, RS485 and RS422. All with quick-connecting screw terminals so you don’t need to do any soldering or use special cables.
Just plug directly into a computer’s USB A or C port and use a Phillips screwdriver to open the terminal and insert a solid or stranded-core wire.
Inside is a FTDI FT231 USB to serial converter – this chip uses 5V logic and provides the UART serial signals that are converted into the different formats. Supported signal rates are 300 baud to 3 Mbaud. FTDI drivers are built into just about every OS these days – but if you need to install, there’s free VCP drivers
Please note: there’s only one USB-serial chip inside, so you can only use one protocol at a time!
USB to Multi-Protocol Serial Adapter: RS-232 / TTL UART / RS-485
No matter what serial-esque protocol you need to interface with, this USB to Multi-Protocol Serial adapter will be able to get this-connected-to-that. It supports RS232 serial, TTL UART serial, RS485 and RS422. All with quick-connecting screw terminals so you don’t need to do any soldering or use special cables.
Just plug directly into a computer’s USB A port and use a Phillips screwdriver to open the terminal and insert a solid or stranded-core wire. The USB A is even the flippable kind so you will always be able to have the labels and LEDs facing you.
Inside is a FTDI FT231 USB to serial converter – this chip uses 5V logic and provides the UART serial signals that are converted into the different formats. Supported signal rates are 300 baud to 3 Mbaud. FTDI drivers are built into just about every OS these days – but if you need to install, there’s free VCP drivers
Please note: there’s only one USB-serial chip inside, so you can only use one protocol at a time!
Starting Thursday, September 5th, the National Arts Club and Bank of America start their third collaboration for the exhibition “Jazz Greats | Classic Photographs from the Bank of America Collection”.
We are thrilled to launch our 2024-25 exhibitions season with “Jazz Greats | Classic Photographs from the Bank of America Collection.” This exhibition has been loaned through the Bank of America Art in our Communities® program and includes 33 photographs by 14 photographers that date from the 1920s to the 1980s. From Billie Holiday to Louis Armstrong, the exhibition features snapshots of legendary figures and everyday people during a vibrant era of American art, music, and dance. Notably, the exhibition includes a photograph taken by Gordon Parks, recipient of the NAC’s Medal of Honor for Photography in 1997 and whose portrait, painted by Gloria Vanderbilt, currently hangs in the parlors.
Every Tuesday is Art Tuesday here at Adafruit! Today we celebrate artists and makers from around the world who are designing innovative and creative works using technology, science, electronics and more. You can start your own career as an artist today with Adafruit’s conductive paints, art-related electronics kits, LEDs, wearables, 3D printers and more! Make your most imaginative designs come to life with our helpful tutorials from the Adafruit Learning System. And don’t forget to check in every Art Tuesday for more artistic inspiration here on the Adafruit Blog!
We just recently launched the first of a few big updates to the Adafruit Learning System. We dropped the right sidebar to give much more room for the main content. This will allow for bigger images and videos, and open the door for some fun updates to the tools used to create guides. Next up we will bring in reactions from Playgrounds, and then we will start going through and updating all of the guide elements to take advantage of the new real estate.
Here is a sneak peak at the new alert element which will be much more accessible and customizable. The old alert looked like this:
The new alert will look like this:
While this may seem like a minor update, this is just one of the many elements used to create all of these guides. Each element will be getting updated to look modern, and work well with the new wide aspect. Once all of these updates are in place, the Adafruit Learning System will feel like a completely new place to learn and explore. We will be rolling out these updates constantly over the next couple of months so be sure to check back here to learn more about what’s new on the Adafruit Learning System!
Comic books are not superhero books. Comic books are a medium; superheroes are a genre. There are a great many romance, western, drama, comedic, and historic comic books. And, of course, science fiction comics are legion. Here are some recent great ones, from Polygon:
Much like the beloved movie The Incredible Journey, We3 is a story about three roving animals: in this case, a rabbit, a dog, and a cat named (respectively) Bandit, Tinker, and Pirate, all of whom just want to go home. Unfortunately, the three lovable pets are also escapees from a military facility that has bioengineered them into cyborg killing machines.
Armed with a heart-tugging sense of empathy often evoked by the sweet robotic chatter between the animals themselves, Morrison’s impressive gift for uncomfortable futurism, and Quitely’s always-inspiring attention to detail across the board, WE3 forces readers to question their part in the day-to-day weaponization that the future may hold.
What happens when you let AI learn by inventing and exploring novel ideas? How about an AI program that invents and builds AI agents? WIRED shares how researchers are testing the limits of artificial intelligence.
AT FIRST GLANCE, a recent batch of research papers produced by a prominent artificial intelligence lab at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver might not seem that notable. Featuring incremental improvements on existing algorithms and ideas, they read like the contents of a middling AI conference or journal.
But the research is, in fact, remarkable. That’s because it’s entirely the work of an “AI scientist” developed at the UBC lab together with researchers from the University of Oxford and a startup called Sakana AI.