Academic Research

MIT Technology Review on Arduino

As electronic devices got more complicated in the past few decades, it became increasingly difficult and expensive to tinker with hardware. The 1970s garage engineers who built their own computers gave way to geeks who programmed their own software. But now the rise of open-source hardware is paving the way for a return of build-it-yourself electronics. Creators can start with devices such as the Arduino, an inexpensive control board that’s easy to program and can hook up to a wide variety of hardware. People can create projects that range from blinking light shows to more sophisticated efforts such as robotics. The Arduino started with designers in Italy, who license the boards to manufacturers and distributors that sell official versions for less than $50. The Arduino designers freely share the specifications for anyone to use, however, and third-party manufacturers all over the world offer versions of their own, sometimes optimized for specific purposes.

http://arduino.cc/blog/


Rube Goldberg Machine

Rube Goldberg's cartoons became well known for depicting complex devices that performed simple tasks in indirect, convoluted ways. An example on the right, is Goldberg's "Professor Butts and the Self-Operating Napkin", which was later reprinted in the postcard book, Rube Goldberg's Inventions!, compiled by Maynard Frank Wolfe from the Rube Goldberg Archives. The "Self-Operating Napkin" is activated when the soup spoon (A) is raised to mouth, pulling string (B) and thereby jerking ladle (C) which throws cracker (D) past parrot (E). Parrot jumps after cracker and perch (F) tilts, upsetting seeds (G) into pail (H). Extra weight in pail pulls cord (I), which opens and lights automatic cigar lighter (J), setting off skyrocket (K) which causes sickle (L) to cut string (M) and allow pendulum with attached napkin to swing back and forth, thereby wiping chin.

In 1931, the Merriam–Webster dictionary adopted the word "Rube Goldberg" as an adjective defined as accomplishing something simple through complex means

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rube_Goldberg_machine