PCB – v5 (final?)

After looking into designing a holder for the new smaller amps I am using for the sound output, I have now decided to incorporate this into the PCB itself. Not soldered the headers on, but this should mean everything is now secure inside the ‘Rock’ shells, but also detachable if anything needs maintenance / replacement.

So, almost there now with the first fully-working prototype of the 4 Space Rocks and transmitters (once I get to sit down and solder the headers, that is).

Printed Circuit Boards

Finally had the chance to work out how to create the files for the PCB to go inside the Space Rocks, using KiCAD, and with much help from @cunabula.

The files have now been sent away to be printed, and I eagerly await being able to test them in situ in a few weeks’ time.

Some new inspiration

A few links of interest for the start of the year, and the next phase of version 1 of the Space Rocks.

Using voice to navigate digital products
Adobe XD uses voice commands to seamlessly integrate voice into prototyping workflows so that designers can be involved in the early creation stages of voice applications.
Adobe XD voice prototyping
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openFrameworks
An open source C++ toolkit for creative coding. Thanks to @cunabula for the link.
https://openframeworks.cc

Free sounds from the Polish Radio Experimental Studio
Something for when I get some time to play with Ableton. A fascinating story, too:
Free sounds from the Polish Radio Experimental Studio – Ableton

One of the first institutions in Europe dedicated to experimental and electronic music, founded in Poland. Set up in 1957 to create musical ‘illustrations’ for movies, radio and television, Polish Radio Experimental Studio (PRES) was an island of artistic freedom throughout the 1960s, 70s and 80s. As one of the few studios in Eastern Europe with electronic music equipment, and crucially, engineers who could service it, the PRES was a center of research into the possibilities of tape music and saw the creation of many astonishing original electro-acoustic works.

Depending on how paranoid you are, this research from Stanford and Google will be either terrifying or fascinating. A machine learning agent intended to transform aerial images into street maps and back was found to be cheating by hiding information it would need later in “a nearly imperceptible, high-frequency signal.”
This clever AI hid data from its creators to cheat at its appointed task

A few trends in what our industry is writing, talking, and thinking about. Here’s what to expect for UX in 2019.
The State of UX in 2019

And following on from that, this book – Calm technology by Amber Case