We found the real John Connor.

Thanks to the organizers at Grupo Robotica Universidad de León and all attendees! Loved the energy. 🦾🤖

No robots. No vision. No AI. Just a vibratory bowl feeder, a 2-axis pick-and-place, a turntable, and a gravity slide. This is the automation that actually runs the world. Bowl feeders have been orienting parts since the 1950s. Vibration and geometry—nothing else. Parts walk up

And here’s a 20x video of the solder paste melting on the pads (and under the chip). Couldn’t get a better image with zoom unfortunately.

Good news! against all odds, the MCU and USB design worked in the first try. I baked the bootloader chip for two long the first time and fried it, but got it right the second time. Here’s the MCU booting up after flashing it over USB.

I can very much relate. As a solopreneur, if I see something’s needed, I just go and do it. Things can still be slow because nobody else is taking care of A while you work on B, but the boosted agency and freedom is what I needed at this stage of my life.

Why do all these fake accounts want to know first thing if I live in the US? Social engineering used to be about subtlety and finesse, people.

Old but gold if it ever gets commercialized. Still mesmerizing to watch.

iRobot on the brink of bankruptcy is not the news I needed to wake up to today.

A few fixes later, here’s the robot’s new PCB alternating power between batteries and the Jetson Orin Nano’s 19V adapter. In both configurations, different voltages are regulated for the MCU, the sensors and logic, and the motors, with a total max power of around 60W.

YouTube just recommended me my own video on the same account I used to published it. Now that’s an echo chamber!

Confirmed: their Americano is way too hot.

I like this a lot.