Wind River offers Qt Commercial on VxWorks

Wind River has collaborated with developer of Qt for desktop and embedded development Digia to offer platform support for the Qt Commercial development framework on Wind River's VxWorks real-time operating system (RTOS).

Qt Commercial is a cross-platform user interface (UI) and application framework with tools for the creation and deployment of applications for desktop and embedded platforms.

his collaboration opens the way for developers across a range of market segments including industrial, medical, and aerospace and defence to design and deploy rich UIs using the Qt development framework running seamlessly on VxWorks.

The Qt Commercial development framework in combination with VxWorks will support graphical user interface (GUI) development and standardisation across projects, revisions and organizations within the enterprise.

In addition, it will enable the users of VxWorks to create differentiated and user-appealing devices with advanced interactive GUIs and added support for 3D and 2D graphics through OpenGL ES and OpenVG.

Qt Commercial support will be offered on VxWorks 6.9 and subsequent versions, and will be available on selected Intel, Freescale and Texas Instruments platforms. Qt Commercial support for VxWorks will be available in a beta version based on the Qt Commercial 4.8.1 release.

Digia will be demonstrating Qt UI applications running on VxWorks platforms at Embedded World 2012, next week.

Richard Wilson

Self-balancing unicycle - the one true way!

This gadget may not yet be weatherproof enough for your daily commute in the UK, but for a pop to the shops for icecream on a sunny afternoon the Focus Designs self balancing unicycle, SBU V2.0 is a real treat.

The company reports that it's increasing production "to meet a quickly growing demand", with a lead time of 8-12 weeks.

The cycle is gyro stabilised, battery-powered and driven by an accelerometer, and the manufacturers claim green credentials for it too.

The SBU control unit basically controls the forward/backward motion and the rider controls the left/right balance - lean forward to go faster and lean backwards to stop makes that part of the ride entirely intuitive.

Focus Design's website says:

"The powerful 1000 Watt BLDC hub motor propels the rider forwards and backwards at up to 10 MPH. This advanced motor is built right into the wheel and is maintenance free. The SBU electronic balance control module is integrated into the wheel itself. The SBU control module performs several critical functions, including motor speed control, motor torque control, and regenerative braking. we've increased the number of sensors to seven for the SBU Version 2.0 which gives a smoother ride, a more accurate balance response and improved turning. Of course the most notable thing inside the SBU is the battery itself, our LiFePO4 lithium-ion nano-phosphate battery is powerful, safe, lightweight and able to take you more than 12 miles between charges."

Specifications:
    * Style: 1-seat, open-top, single-wheel-drive electric self balancing unicycle.
    * Drivetrain: Direct drive, variable speed with electronic motor control.
    * Motor: Permanent magnet brushless DC motor with variable drive.
    * Efficiency: 85%
    * Throttle: Rider lean detection determines speed and direction.
    * Chassis: High strength 7005 aluminum frame.
    * Seat: Deluxe gel unicycle saddle, adjustable height.
    * Suspension: The tire and your body.
    * Wheel: Heavy duty alloy hub motor.
    * Tire: Quality high PSI. Size: 20?x2.125?
    * Brakes: 1000W regenerative braking via the hub motor.
    * Speed: About 10 mph (depending on the rider's weight)
    * Range: About 12 miles (depending on the terrain)
    * Battery Life: Over 1000 cycles.
    * Battery: Custom high quality LiFePO4 lithium-ion phosphate 38.4 volt battery.
    * Full Charge Time: About 2 hours.
    * Charger: Custom international 2A fast charger. 100 to 240VAC.
    * Built: Camas, Washington USA

Dimensions:
    * Overall length (in. / mm) 20.0 / 508.0
    * Overall width - pedals folded: (in. / mm) 10.3 / 261.9
    * Overall width - pedals ready to ride: (in. / mm) 17.0 / 431.8
    * Overall height: (in. / mm) 34.5 / 876.3
    * Curb weight (lbs/kgs) 29 / 13
    * Leg Room (in./mm) unlimited / unlimited
    * Front Head Room (in./mm) unlimited / unlimited
    * Front Shoulder Room (in./mm) unlimited / unlimited

Find out more about it at http://focusdesigns.com/design/

Sue Proud

The Dead Platform Graveyard - mobile lessons to learn

Falling within the purview of "good ideas, bad execution", here's an interesting article that tries to take an overview of what makes a platform fail, when it comes to mobile devices. And there have been a lot of failed platforms...

The MD of VisionMobile, Andreas Constantinou, enumerates the more than 25 platforms that could be  classed as failed, from Meego and Aria (?) to UIQ and Prism...

He begins:

2011 turned out to be open hunting season for mobile platforms, with the MeeGo, webOS and LiMo projects coming to an end.

MeeGo, webOS and LiMo, together with Windows Mobile and Symbian are just the tip of the dead OS iceberg. The last 10 years have seen numerous companies launch operating systems or platforms for mobile devices, most of which have been fallen under the media radar. The table below lists all known mobile platforms that have died or are a 'zombie' (semi-dead) state - that's all 26 of them, from Access Linux Platform to Windows Mobile.

It is worth checking out the table - The Dead Platform Graveyard - a definitive looking summary.

The platforms failed for a combination of reasons such as cost of ownership, conflicting revenue models, lack of network effects, and high adoption barriers...

For example, discussing each of these factors in turn, when it comes to "network effects, he says:

It was Apple that proved how network effects - the positive feedback loop between app developers and users - can lead to enormous demand-side economies of scale. It was the power of well-oiled network effects that made Nokia realize that "it had to go to developers" (and not wait for developers to go to Nokia) before eventually losing the Symbian battle against Android and iOS.

But enough of failure. What is the success factor of modern platforms?

Firstly, Andreas  software DNA, that is a company with resources, processes and values routed in the PC or Internet world where developers, not OEMs are the platform's primary customer. Secondly, a successful platform vendor needs to have large pockets due to the billions of dollars in investment needed to build a stable and advanced software foundation, while attracting developers to the platform. Note that the bubble size in the chart shows last relative size of 4 quarters of vendor revenues.

Read the full blog post >>

Linux distributions, in graphical form

Thanks to Steve Bush, our Technology Eduitor, for flagging this amazing graphic. Ever wondered what a document of Linux distros would look like, in graphical form?

Check out the Wikipedia page for List of Linux distributions. Specifically, check out http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8c/Gldt.svg

And there's anoher one for the Debian family tree.

Scan negatives with a DSLR and toilet-rolls...

Just like the LockCracking robot, this one is a project featured in Wired.com's dependable GadgetLab. The headline brings back fond memories of Blue Peter and its toilet rolls and sticky-back plaster - Scan Old Negatives with a DSLR and Toilet-Paper Tubes

Photographer, and Gadget Master, Claus Thiim has described a neat way to scan hundreds of nostalgic negatives and slides.

Charlie Sorrel writes:

Thiim's method eschews slow, bulky scanners and doesn't even think about mail-in scanning services. He uses the fastest scanner he has: his DSLR. Onto the front are mounted an old manual focus (90mm) lens, an extension tube (which moves the lens forward and allows closer macro focusing). Then things get creative, with a couple of toilet-paper tubes taped to an old filter with the glass removed, along with a plastic 35mm slide-mount on the end. The mount is opened at the sides to let the film slide through.

To scan, you just move the film through and snap a frame. If your camera has live-view, you can even check framing and focus from the comfort of the rear screen.

If the focusing distance is not enough, you can always add another toilet roll!

Read the full post >>

Read the original post on DIYphotography.net >>

Impossible Object #29: A table with two legs

Here's a bit of fun, and we haven't had an Impossible Object for a while... How about a table with just two legs?

This one is from the designer Shay Carmon, who also brought us the defibrillator toaster! When you see it, of course, it all seems obvious...

How does it compare a previous Impossible Object, the Liquid Table? What this one needs for adornment is a liquid lamp, an inside-out salt shaker, and the classic coffee pot, which kicked this whole series off!..

Previous Impossible Objects we've covered:

• the Doll's House computer
• the parallel of time clock
• the upside down buildings
  
• 
  
• the wall-sized light switch
  
• 
  
• the liquid table
  
• 
  
• the liquid lamp
• 
  
• the foetal bed
• 
  
• the flying carpet sofa
  
• 
  
• the electric butterflies
  
• 
  
• the wall stairs
  
• 
  
• the other dimension storage
  
• 
  
• the Colt electric guitar
  
• 
  
• the piano stairs
  
• 
  
• the clock that draws the time
  
• 
  
• the pocket light folding bulb
  
• 
  
• the shattering door
  
• 
  
• the wooden mirror
  
• 
  
• the inside-out salt shaker
• the Wingdings keyboard
• 
  
• the door lock maze
• the dark lamp
• the global chess board
• the curved keyboard
• the implausible plug
  
• 
  
• the infinite tap
• 
  
• the simplified calculator
• 
  
• the electric hammer
• 
  
• the signature coffee pot

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Video: Get to grips with the BeagleBone

We're all for BeagleBoards here on Gadget Master and this is one I meant to flag before - Texas Instrument's system has a little brother: the BeagleBone, powered by the company's Sitara ARM Cortex-A8 processor.

"It builds in the most loved features of the BeagleBoard but has shrunk the size and price while adding more I/O connections," boasts TI in the video below. The RRP is $89.

To get started, simply plug it into your PC (Windows MacOs or Linux) and you can begin development... It will appear as a Flash drive and you will be able to extract the files to get you going.

Features of the hardware spec highlighted by BeagleBoard.org include:
    * Board size: 3.4" x 2.1"
    * Shipped with 2GB microSD card with the Angstrom Distribution with node.js and Cloud9 IDE
    * Single cable development environment with built-in FTDI-based serial/JTAG and on-board hub to give the same cable simultaneous access to a USB device port on the target processor
    * Industry standard 3.3V I/Os on the expansion headers with easy-to-use 0.1" spacing
    * On-chip Ethernet, not off of USB
    * Easier to clone thanks to larger pitch on BGA devices (0.8mm vs. 0.4mm), no package-on-package memories, standard DDR2 vs. LPDDR, integrated USB PHYs and more.

What is the BeagleBone capable of doing? They are glad you asked...

At over 1.5 billion Dhrystone operations per second and vector floating point arithmetic operations, the BeagleBone is capable of not just interfacing to all of your robotics motor drivers, location or pressure sensors and 2D or 3D cameras, but also running OpenCV, OpenNI and other image collection and analysis software to recognize the objects around your robot and the gestures you might make to control it. Through HDMI, VGA or LCD expansion boards, it is capable of decoding and displaying multiple video formats utilizing a completely open source software stack and synchronizing playback over Ethernet or USB with other BeagleBoards to create massive video walls. If what you are into is building 3D printers, then the BeagleBone has the extensive PWM capabilities, the on-chip Ethernet and the 3D rendering and manipulation capabilities all help you eliminate both your underpowered microcontroller-based controller board as well as that PC from your basement.

Read more details >>