Academy Awards Data Mining, Statistical Analysis, and Visualization Using Wikipedia and Plotly

Data Analysis, MATLAB, Lifestyle, ProgrammingJoshua HriskoFebruary 25, 2018Oscars, Academy Awards, Data Analysis, Data Mining, Data, MATLAB, Plotting, Visualization, PlotlyComment

ESP8266 WiFi Module - Flashing with Arduino Uno and Smart Home Web Server LED Blink

Electronics, Arduino, Programming, Most PopularJoshua HriskoFebruary 19, 2018ESP8266, Arduino, Arduino Uno, Breadboard, Flash, IoT, Wiring, Sketch, Smart Home, Web Server, Web, LED, 2018 #6 Comments

Publication-Quality Plots Using MATLAB and METAR Data From Nearby Airports

MATLAB, ProgrammingJoshua HriskoFebruary 15, 2018MATLAB, programming, METAR, code, parse, weather, government, NWS, New York City, Austin, station, html, web, figure, datenum, datestr, temperature, humidity, juxtaposeJSComment

Heat Mapping with a 64-Pixel Infrared Detector (AMG8833), Raspberry Pi, and Python

Multi-Touch Sensor and Arduino

Electronics, Programming, ArduinoJoshua HriskoJanuary 20, 2018Capacitive Touch Arduino, Capacitive Touch Sensor, Capacitive Touch Tutorial, LED, LEDs, Arduino LED, Sensor, Touch Sensor, Multi-Touch, Multimeter, Arduino, Arduino IDE, Arduino Uno, RGB Comments

Infrared Obstacle Detector for Less Than $1

Programming, ArduinoJoshua HriskoJanuary 17, 2018Comment

Using Raspberry Pi, HM-10, and Bluepy To Develop An iBeacon Mesh Network (Part 2)

Using Raspberry Pi, HM-10, and Bluepy To Develop An iBeacon Mesh Network (Part 1)

Bluetooth Home Automation Light Bulb Switch Using An HC-05, A Relay, and Arduino

Bluetooth, Electronics, Programming, Arduino, Editor's PicksJoshua HriskoNovember 15, 2017 Comments

Geospatial Analysis Using QGIS and Open-Source Data

Geographic information systems (GIS) are powerful tools used by climatologists, health organizations, defense agencies, real-estate companies, and nearly all professions that rely on location-based data. Geographic data is often very cumbersome to analyze traditionally, which is why visualization tools are essential. Depending on the size and complexity of the data, several robust GIS softwares exist on the market from open-source (free) to paid subscriptions. Each software has its strengths and weaknesses, so depending on the application one software may be more effective than another. A few of the leading softwares are: GE Smallworld, Google Earth Pro, AutoCAD Map 3D, and Maptitude. QGIS is an open-source competitor to ArcGIS, which is arguably the industry leader in the GIS market, so for financial and ease-of-application reasons, QGIS is employed here. I will also cover four scales of geographic analysis: one at the city level (NYC), one at the state level (Washington State), one at the country level (U.S.A.), and one at the world level. The goal is to demonstrate the power and breadth of geographic information systems at any scale.

Arduino - Sending A String Over Bluetooth Using The HM-10

As an introduction to Bluetooth with Arduino or Raspberry Pi, I recommend using a component called the HM-10 [datasheet here]. The HM-10 is a Bluetooth low energy module that employ Bluetooth 4.0, which is currently the most widely used protocol for wireless devices (along with Wifi, but I will discuss this later). All of the current iPhones, Androids, and Google phones use Bluetooth 4.0, and it will likely be around for quite a while. The module is powered at 3.3V and consumes around 50mA (peak), 8.5mA (nominal), and can sleep with a current between 400uA - 1.5mA. It claims to have an open-space transmission range of 100m, and boasts transfer rates at 2 kilobytes per second. The underlying chip is a Texas Instruments CC-2540/2541 [see here]. The HM-10 is particularly germane because it cooperates nicely with the Arduino software with a mere four lines of code in the IDE.