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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
I spent a fun hour the other day talking with Elicia White on her podcast, Embedded.fm: The Show for People Who Love Gadgets. We chatted about XBees, ZigBee, my book, sensors, data science and more. I had just come from visiting NASA, so I even got to explain a bit about how they are putting XBees in Space.
Faludi Speaks on Embedded.fm Read Post »
NASA’s Ames Research Center is putting the first ZigBee radio network into space! XBee radios will form a prototype telemetry system on a NASA Soarex sounding rocket launching this coming January, 2015. The NASA sounding rocket will journey into space around 200 miles above the earth, run experiments and then return ballistically into the Atlantic Ocean. The on-spacecraft ZigBee network will be
Botanicalls was recently featured in the Smithsonian Channel’s “Amazing Plants” documentary. There’s even beauty shots of the Arduino and XBee radio components! Also here’s the segment, filmed all the way back in 2007:
Botanicalls on Smithsonian Channel’s Amazing Plants Read Post »
