We have liftoff. My first Balloon Environmental Sensing test successfully “slipped the surly bonds of earth, and danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings” sending data back the whole time. First flight was at the Digital Naturalism Conference in Gamboa, Panama, featuring 10+ sensor values streaming from the balloon to an online data collection system and […]
Balloon IoT Environmental Sensing Takes to the Air Read Post »
Last month we did range testing on a new LoRaWAN radio network installation in Gamboa, Panama. The network, which covers the entire center of town is part of the Digital Naturalism Lab’s commitment to supporting wildlife and environmental research. Gamboa, where the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute’s laboratory is located, is surrounded by the SoberanÃa National
Gamboa, Panama – LoRaWAN Radio Range Test Read Post »
It’s easy to do environmental sensing at ground level. But how about up in the air over our heads? If we could somehow reach it inexpensively and safely, can we directly explore what lies above, perhaps making our own discoveries? One of my projects for Dinacon 2019 will create a party-balloon platform for inexpensive aerial
Balloon Environmental Sensing Read Post »
Maybe you’ve struggled with coding for time zones, local calendars or historical time changes. Or perhaps you’ve wondered why a software developer went pale when you asked them to add local time calculations to an app and wondered why? In this classic review, Tom Scott explains how a seemingly simple measurement calculation becomes a “twisty-turny
The Trouble With Time Zones Read Post »
I’ve been writing hands-on examples for using MicroPython on XBee radios. MicroPython is an open-source programming language based on Python 3, modified to fit on small devices, and optimized for microcontrollers. By using MicroPython, an easy-to-learn scripting and programming language, you can rapidly prototype intelligent behaviors at the edges of your network. Cryptic sensor readings can be
MicroPython Examples for XBee Read Post »
Here’s a fun project I created for Digi International a while back. I just wrote up for them as an Instructable so that anyone can make their own. All materials, steps, diagrams and necessary code are included in the instructions. You can get started right away. The Digi XBee3 Cellular SMS ActivityBot is an educational
Text Message-Controlled Robot Read Post »
Introduction Simple programs can make a big difference! An XBee running small amounts of code can perform some pretty important tasks. Cryptic readings can be transformed into useful data, excess transmissions can be intelligently filtered out, modern sensors and actuators can be employed directly, operational logic can glue inputs and outputs together in an intelligent
XBee MicroPython Examples Read Post »
XBee radios have rocketed into space! Early in the morning on July 7, NASA launched a NASA Black Brant IX suborbital sounding rocket from their Wallops Flight Facility. Onboard the rocket was an experiment running the very first wireless XBee network to leave our planet. Here’s a complete overview of the launch day: The rocket carried the SOAREX-8 Exo-Brake
XBees Rocket into Space Read Post »
We are pleased that Botanicalls was not simply acquired by the Museum of Modern Art but is also being presented in a new exhibition called “This is for Everyone: Design Experiments for the Common Good” running through January 31, 2016. Here’s a description of the show: “This exhibition takes its title from the Twitter message
Botanicalls in MoMA’s “This is for Everyone” Exhibition Read Post »
The XBee ZigBee Cloud Kit that our team developed last year recently took home several nice industry awards. We had set out to create a kit simple enough to help non-engineers quickly connect their creations to the cloud yet flexible enough for professionals to build rapid prototypes using advanced programming and cloud-based data sets. The kit is built around Digi’s XBee ZigBee Gateway. It includes code examples and powerful
XBee ZigBee Cloud Kit Winning Awards Read Post »
