Hi, this is Wayne again with a topic “Hack Toys with the TI Launchpad and Energia”.
Okay, so this is the launch pad and booster pack ecosystem from Texas Instruments, it’s a ecosystem of ultra low power, easy to use and very affordable modular open-source building blocks, and what I’ve got showed in here is a modular remote control. We’Ve got a rechargeable lithium polymer battery we’ve got a sub dig your hurt, RF module from Texas Instruments, you’ve got a TI, msp430 launch pad, and then lastly, we’ve got what we call the educational booster pack mark 2, which features a joystick and accelerometer which we’re going To talk to a robot that robber here is holding, so this is the robot. It has a booster pack on it and which has a msp430. We basically reused the hardware that is inside these Xbox to drive the motors both of these units, both the remote control and the Hexbug run something called in idea, which is a rapid prototyping platform based on wiring. We use this, to you, know, teach people at off-the-shelf, choice, etc. People have been reacting to the launchpad and interview project in a very positive fashion.
I think the affordability of the hardware definitely helps a lot of what Robert has done with the energy ax project. Making an open-source being all on github enables people to rapidly collaborate and work together, yeah, so we’ve had really good feedback on the energy a project. The main purpose why I started energy is to make CI microcontrollers accessible to makers, artists and hobbyists.
Before energy there was really nothing emptyeyes portfolio. That makers were able to use to. You know make sparks like this. My advice for young makers is, don’t be afraid. You know take risks, ask questions and don’t be afraid to learn and Maker Faire is a perfect place to do that. Yeah. My advice to young makers would be fail faster, the faster you fail, the quicker you learn and energy is a perfect tool to make those iterations really nice. .