Mysterious Files PH

Full body tracking in VR applications involves attaching sensors to one’s body, and [Jaki] has a DIY method to do it on the cheap: the Vive Tracker Lite project repurposes Vive controllers as lighthouse-based trackers, no hardware modifications required.

A common method of doing body tracking is to strap on some Vive trackers. Those are extremely hacker-friendly pieces of hardware, but [Jaki] observed that older Vive VR controllers can be had for cheap, and already contain everything a tracker needs. Some new firmware and a custom mount is all it takes to turn them into perfectly usable body trackers.

But what about a wireless receiver? [Jaki] has that covered as well with the $5 Viva Dongle, which uses a Pro Micro NRF52840 to act as a cheap DIY alternative to the official dongle hardware.

We appreciate the effort put into making this project accessible to everyone, even novices. [Jaki]’s put effort into a Python program with a full GUI to make the flashing of firmware as easy as possible for both projects. Experimenting with body tracking in VRChat or games with mods is just some recycled hardware away.

Granted, a Vive controller is not the slimmest piece of hardware, but all it takes is a firmware change and a 3D-printed fixture to make a perfectly serviceable tracker. That being said, we’re sure an enterprising hardware hacker may crack a controller open and embark on a serious rebuild, or even interface to some of the inputs in a clever way. If you’ve done that or know of someone who has, drop us a note on our tips line because we’d love to see it.

Perhaps the most ridiculous statement that anyone can make is that a computer system with clearly enough processing power ‘cannot run DOOM‘. This is why we accept the premise that a PDP-11 cannot run this game, but something on the order of a Neo Geo gaming console with its 68000 processor and for the time impressive GPU definitely ought to be able to.

The stated problem here is a lack of RAM for a framebuffer, with the CPU only having 64 kB to play with. This limitation now has seen two different approaches to try and circumvent it, as covered by [Modern Vintage Gamer].

The first project here is Doom64kB, which as the name suggests tries to somehow work with this system RAM limitation. It uses the Doom8088 port for the original IBM PC and similar Intel 8088-based systems. This had to massively reduce the feature list, including the lack of texture mapping for floors and ceiling, no saving or loading, and no music.

The other project is DoomGeo, which doesn’t try to bend the Neo Geo hardware to its will, but accepts the Neo Geo way of doing things: involving sprite strips, pre-baked graphics, fix-layer UI, and a minimum of runtime data. This of course drastically changes how the Doom game engine normally works, with its framebuffer-based rendering.

From this we can thus conclude that it’s not so much the processing power that limits where DOOM can run, but more of how framebuffer-friendly the system architecture is, yet with some ingenuity and a complete rewrite of the game engine even that is no major obstacle.

(Top image: Neo Geo AES console. Credit: Evan-Amos, Wikimedia)

Can you call it a bandsaw if it has neither band nor saw? [WeldingRod1] does, with his entry in the laser contest — a manually-controlled laser cutter that he’s dubbed a Laser Bandsaw. Some might quibble that it’s not actually sawing with the beam, and others will inevitably find the safety implications rather frightening. We think it’s a fun project and that [WeldingRod1] can call it what he wants, as long as he follows his own advice and keeps his laser goggles firmly on his precious vision orbs.

He has actually put some thought into what started as the physical manifestation of a joke in a podcast. The blue diode laser — a NUBM44 diode rated at 7 W — got a custom-made copper heatsink. It’s also got a hefty beam dump in the form of a stack of box knife blades. That’s very necessary to keep the beam from reflecting where it shouldn’t, especially when you consider this operates like a regular band saw: you turn it on, and it’s ready to cut. With only 7 W of laser power it can’t cut that much, mind you, but apparently it’s great on balsa wood and blasts black paint off like nobody’s business.

Now if this was our shop we’d probably want to put the laser diode onto some kind of CNC platform, be it Cartesian or SCARA. But we’ve seen that done many, many times and if you’ve got the motor skills this might be just the tool for you. There’s a pinout and STLs for the 3D printed frame on the project page if you’re interested. If not, why are you still here? The article is finished. Go make something lase and send it in. The deadline for the 2026 Frikkin Laser Contest is fast approaching!

At the current rate of robotics development, you might assume that we’re close to Skynet taking over. However, while we  likely wouldn’t do well in a physical fight against a robot, we can at least keep the bragging rights of having the cooler actuators. Or at least, that was the case before a new actuator came into town — introducing “Electrofluidic Fiber Muscles”.

Traditional robotic actuators use motors of some kind with a variety of gearboxes or linkages to turn rotational movement into usable movement. This isn’t always the most effective way to run some robotics movements, especially when modeling humans. This is why many have turned to pressurized modes of actuation. Though most don’t show quite the promise of the new player.

Electrofluidic Fiber Muscles use pressure to shorten muscle strands, similar to past actuators. However, these are a tad different, taking advantage of electrofluidic pressure. A small current under high voltage is able to drive a pressure gradient in a long tube. This tube can then be connected to both an extensor and flexor portion of an actuating circuit, similar to a biological mechanical system. Better yet, this driving pressure pump can be spun around the fibers themselves, making a tight package.

Unfortunately, it will probably be a bit till we see this inside a hobbyist robot. Until then, make sure to check out some other actuator feats!

To give people the most intimate RBMK experience, the [Chornobyl Family] has been working tirelessly at not only replicating the original RBMK reactor control room and its SKALA industrial control system’s controls, but also to create a version that you could tinker with at home if you ever fancied getting your own RBMK operator license. This starts with the operator console, with its use demonstrated in a recent video including a range of common commands.

In this video the entering of codes on the console to interact with the system is detailed, including the logic behind it. In the absence of large displays to display many parameters and such, this way the operator could ‘talk’ with the control system, including obtaining current sensors readings and the setting and changing of setpoints. From the same console you can also select and run programs, which is useful for automating tasks, like monitoring coolant flows.

In the second video not only the construction of the control panel is covered, but also a visual representation of the simulated reactor core which is displayed on a connected monitor. Although not a part of the original SKALA system as such, a much larger version existed as a wall-sized physical version inside the control room, so it’s definitely more home-simulator friendly.

We previously covered this SKALA system that controls RBMK reactors, as well as the 1990s modernization of the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant.

There was a time in the early 1980s when it was common to see home made keyboards for 8-bit machines that came with membrane or rubber keyboards. Though we’ve seen any numbers of home made modern ‘boards, it’s been decades since we saw one for an 8-bit micro. Until today, that is, when we saw [Vlad]’s Sinclair Spectrum. It’s a Spectrum with all that Sinclair glue logic that was in the ULA replaced in software by an RP2050, and that keyboard with the Spectrum decals.

The machine is a charming mixture of new and old, with a traditional cassette port alongside VGA, gameport joystick, and Sinclair joystick. The aim is to also have HDMI, though it’s not yet implemented. Sadly there is no Spectrum edge connector for period peripherals though. He admits it’s not cycle accurate to the original, but given that it runs all the games he’s given it this seems not to matter. Meanwhile that keyboard which caught our eye is a true period piece, sitting as it does on a piece of phenolic stripboard, and those decals are the perfect finishing touch.

The Spectrum receives quite a bit of love today, and if this one takes too many modern liberties for your liking, you can still make one using proper logic.

We are absolutely stoked to announce that the Hackaday Superconference is taking place this year November 6th through 8th in glorious Pasadena California, and we want to see you there!

If you’ve been to any of the previous nine Supercons, you know that it’s a fantastic gathering of the most motivated and interesting hackers around — but it’s also been a relatively small gathering. And while we love the very high signal-to-noise ratio of folks who show up, we’re always a little bit sad when the tickets sell out because it represents hackers who couldn’t be there.

So this year, we’re celebrating Supercon Ten by expanding out of our traditional location at the Design Lab so that we can accommodate 20% more hackers, while still keeping the cosy nature of the event intact. So if you’ve been wanting to come to Supercon, but procrastinated the ticket sales every year, this year is looking 20% better.

Call for Proposals

If you want to give a talk to an interested audience of hackers just like you, now is your chance. Fill out the Call for Participation form before Wednesday, Aug 12th to put your hat in the ring. Presenters not only get to share their work with a like-minded audience, but they get in the door free! Presenting really is the best way to attend a conference like this – it’s the ultimate ice-breaker. (Plus, did we mention free?)

We will have two tracks of talks on two stages, and both are a mix of shorter 20-minute talks and longer 40-minute sessions, so whatever the size of your ideas, we have the slot for you. As always, we like to hear about your projects: hardware, software, creation, destruction, or anything in-between. In short, if you have a talk that would interest the readers of Hackaday, it fits. Check out last year’s slate if you’re curious, but bear in mind that we like to see new stuff, so don’t feel constrained by precedent. If you’re into it, there’s a good chance that many of us are too!

All you need is an abstract, a title, and a solid general idea of how the talk is going to go. First time speaker, or grizzled veteran: get your proposal in now.

Plus ça Change…

Supercon Ten starts out as usual with a casual badge-hacking day at Supplyframe HQ on the morning of Friday Nov 6th. We love this day because there’s “nothing” to do! It’s the perfect way to ease into the conference: the doors open, and the food and coffee starts flowing. As the solder melts, brought-along hacks get demoed, friendships form, and plans get hatched. We go on well into the night, with music and festivities to keep you motivated or distracted – the choice is yours.

Saturday and Sunday are chock-full of talks, workshops, challenges, and other events. This year, we’ll be a few blocks south at the ArtCenter South Campus, which means that we’ll be relocating our traditional back-alley ambiance to significantly fancier digs. But of course, we’ll have space for hacking, mingling, and watching the talks.

Sunday evening comes too soon, and at the end of this second day of talks, we’ll let you showcase all of the badge hacks that you’ve been working on before spilling out into the town and falling far too late into bed.

Just because enough is never enough, we’ll probably also meet up informally sometime Thursday night if you’re already in town. And if you’re able to finagle a half-day Monday into your schedule, you’ll find that a bunch of folks have off-schedule side trips that are always popular.

Get Excited!

We know that we’re announcing late this year. The new venue, combined with a late Hackaday Europe, made for a lot more planning to be done. But now that all of our ducks are in a row, we’re very much looking forward to November. And of course, we can’t wait to see what you all are going to bring with you to Supercon. After all, it’s the Hackaday community that makes it great.

Get your talk proposals in now, and in the next few weeks, we’ll open up ticket pre-sales. Tell your friends, neglect to mention it to your enemies, and start making your Supercon plans today.