CERN KiCad Library

CERN has released its complete KiCad component library under an open source license, making it available to hardware designers anywhere in the world. The library, maintained by CERN’s Design Office, contains more than 17,000 electronic components in the form of schematic symbols and printed circuit board footprints.

Singing Books -II

I am pleased to learn of a company that makes singing books, something I had been interested in for many years (please see: https://crimsonreason.blogspot.com/2007/02/singing-book.html)

https://www.calisbooks.com/collections/sound-books

Pigeons Fitted with Neural Chips [Brave New World]

From METRO of the UK, November 28, 2025

How about fitting infantrymen with neural chips, to better steer them into battle and make sure they move forward, even when they are scared to death? As for the pigeons, the next step would be to turn them into flying suicide bombers... 

_____________________

Human Sensory Control - Good or Evil?

I have a patent application on the subject of sensory control - please see here: 

US20250042417A1 - User sensory control - Google Patents

which is related to the idea of Sensory room - Wikipedia.

Recently I came across more work in this area:

There is this paper (2015) - marco-donnarumma_configuring-human-and-technological-bodies_2015.pdf

Nigredo: configuring human and technological bodies 58 E X P E R I E N C I N G T H E U N C O N V E N T I O N A L mere pairing of machine and human bodies, but their arrangment in particular forms and for specific purposes.The configuration of the human and the machine is not intended at a marcodonnarumma.com

In which we read:

"The work is presented in the form of a time-based installation. By repurposing biofeedback methods, whole-body vibration and wearable bioacoustic technology, the visitor is first induced into a state of perceptual deprivation, and then subjected to diverse stimulations designed and temporally composed so to provoke physiological, physical and neural alterations. The work aims to unlock latent qualities of the human body through its coupling with the technological system."

When I first read it, my first thought was that this type of installation could be used to torture human beings and to break them; the hardware implementation is very similar to what we had disclosed in our patent application earlier (we also had envisioned a UI for customization).  In this embodiment, the cus6tomization comes from an artist, for good or for ill.  

These other two web sites below are related to the same general area of human sensory experience which I also came across recently and thought you might also find interesting:

Multisensory Space. Interview With Sonia Cillari • Digicult | Digital Art, Design and Culture

https://valeriemace.com/

I think there is a lot of potential for Good or Evil in this area.  Let us hope for the Good to previal.

Man's Parkinson's controlled by Brain Implant

From BBC

A man fitted with a pioneering, computer-controlled brain implant to tackle his Parkinson's disease says it works so well he is sometimes able to forget he has the condition.

A small computer inserted into Kevin Hill's chest wall 12 months ago is connected to wires running into the brain which can send electrical signals and an update means it can now read his brain activity.

The 65-year-old from Sunderland said it has been so successful he feels like he has "been cured".

Surgeons in Newcastle hope an adapted version of the deep brain stimulation system will have a "huge impact" on the quality of life of patients with the disease.

Mr Hill said: "I forget about Parkinson's for days and days and days."

__________

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ckgn49r069wo

U.S. Tries to Govern AI’s Global Spread

From the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace:

With Its Latest Rule, the U.S. Tries to Govern AI’s Global Spread | Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Resolving Chromecast-Hoopla Inter-operability Problem

I am describing below a Chromecast-Hoopla inter-operability problem & its resolution.

Description:

I noticed the problem first in October of 2024.  I would cast to Hoopla via Chromecast from my Android phone.  The TV screen showed the movie being loaded (the circling Wait icon) and then it would stop and would only display the blue Hoopla screen.

I verified the same behavior with Apple iPhone.

The specifications were:

• Device brand and model: iPhone 14
• Operating system, found in device settings: iOS 17.61
• hoopla app version: 4.60
• Chromecast model: firmware – 1.36.157768

and

• Device brand and model: Galaxy S8
• Operating system, found in device settings: Android 9.0 
• hoopla app version: 4.77.1
• Chromecast model: firmware – 1.36.157768

and

• TV: Sanyo
• Model No.: DP32242 HDMI
• Manufacturing Date: SEPTEMBER 2012

All devices were on a home wireless network.

Resolution:

I could not update the firmware on the Chromecast since there was no option to do so using Google Home app. on the Android phone.

I updated the firmware of the TV set from the Web (it was on the wireless network) via its remote-control options.

The Chromecast-Hoopla inter-operability problem was resolved.

AI in Chip Design

https://techxplore.com/news/2025-01-ai-unveils-strange-chip-functionalities.amp

Wearable tech and magic carpets [Brave New World]

They also created a wireless haptic carpet that glows underfoot which not only provides a form of emergency lighting at night, but can also wirelessly transmit signals that can be used to control switches on appliances in the home, such as lights.

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2024/apr/04/wearable-tech-how-the-human-body-can-help-power-the-future-of-smart-textiles

Mechanical Computers

I watched these fascinating old videos on the mechanical computers of US Navy over the weekend and thought others might like watching them too.

 https://youtu.be/lr1uK24SND8

 https://youtu.be/5GZa63x3k60

 By watching something like this can one truly understand just how revolutionary digital computing was; which was invented by Professor of Physics John Atanasoff at Iowa State University – please see below:

 https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0385527136/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1682279661&sr=8-1#aw-udpv3-customer-reviews_feature_div

AI in the News

 AI in the News:

7 weird and wonderful applications of artificial intelligence - CityAM : CityAM

The Big Hack

From Bloomberg News
Big Brother is watching you. From Beijing.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2018-10-04/the-big-hack-how-china-used-a-tiny-chip-to-infiltrate-america-s-top-companies

The Big Hack: How China Used a Tiny Chip to Infiltrate U.S ...

To help with due diligence, AWS, which was overseeing the prospective acquisition, hired a third-party company to scrutinize Elemental’s security, according to one person familiar with the process.

Eye Damage

Screens are killing your eyeballs, and now we know how:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/screens-are-killing-your-eyeballs-and-now-we-know-how/ar-BBLWOTR?li=BBnbcA1

Ancient Paper Art, Kirigami, Poised to Improve Smart Clothing

New research shows how paper-cutting can make ultra strong, stretchable electronics
http://www.labmanager.com/news/2018/04/ancient-paper-art-kirigami-poised-to-improve-smart-clothing?utm_campaign=Newsletter_LM_Monitor_2018&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=62033794&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_61OA60uYPv53gO_DtqB-uBIPkCcOUB1MOU8LZNdsUHI6maW2_Ynw0nYnM7SgE-8cVfPJvONfmuVMbFS2c920wcT6d0xilP-SMAirrm-Xb466iIT8&_hsmi=62033513#.Ws-xSi7wZhE
And the original paper:

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/adma.201706390

AI News from Intel

• AI News from Intel:
  
  https://newsroom.intel.com/editorials/intels-new-self-learning-chip-promises-accelerate-artificial-intelligence/
  
  http://www.vision-systems.com/articles/2017/07/deep-learning-device-from-intel-enables-artificial-intelligence-programming-at-the-edge.html
  
  http://www.vision-systems.com/articles/2017/08/intel-acquires-mobileye-plans-to-deploy-100-autonomous-vehicles-later-this-year.html

Data-storage Records for DNA

Researchers break record for DNA data storage

http://www.nature.com/news/dna-data-storage-breaks-records-1.11194 

PIXEL - for MAC & PC

PIXEL is the desktop OS (PC & MAC) from Raspberry Pi Foundation.  It is a version of GNU/Linux with a modern user interface; a curated suite of productivity software and programming tools, both free and proprietary; and the Chromium web browser with useful plugins, including Adobe Flash, pre-installed.

Find it @ https://www.raspberrypi.org/blog/pixel-pc-mac/.

Some additional information @ https://www.raspberrypi.org/blog/introducing-pixel/

Precision Coffeemaker

Precision Coffeemaker Adapts Brews to Beans, Taste

https://spinoff.nasa.gov/Spinoff2016/cg_2.html

Small Step Towards Mind Control

         

I wonder how far we are from remote mind control; if signals can be recorded, they could be played back...

Wireless recording of neural activity with ultrasound Implanted devices that record neural activity in model organisms such as rats ideally should be as small as possible, remotely powered and able to transduce information wirelessly.

Seo et al. aim for all of these features by using neural dust to record from peripheral neurons in the mouse. Neural dust is a tiny recording system thI wonder how far we are from remote mind control; if signals can be recorded, they could be played back...

Wireless recording of neural activity with ultrasound Implanted devices that record neural activity in model organisms such as rats ideally should be as small as possible, remotely powered and able to transduce information wirelessly.

Seo et al. aim for all of these features by using neural dust to record from peripheral neurons in the mouse. Neural dust is a tiny recording system that consists mainly of electrodes and a piezoelectric crystal. The crystal reflects ultrasonic energy (sent from an external transducer) after neural activity picked up with the electrodes modulates the ultrasonic signal. Electrical activity can thus be inferred from the difference in emitted and received ultrasound signal. The researchers applied their technology in vivo to obtain electroneurographic and electromyographic recordings from rat sciatic nerve and skeletal muscles, respectively.

http://www.cell.com/neuron/pdf/S0896-6273(16)30344-0.pdf

Resources for Drone Development

A few web resources for drone developers:

Dronecode (https://www.dronecode.org/ ) : An open-source project managed by the Linux Foundation.

DIY Drones (http://diydrones.com/ ): A community site  with resources for building drones; hardware and software areas are both covered.

DroneKit (http://dronekit.io/ ): Another open-source App. development platform, from 3D Robotics.

DJI SDK (https://developer.dji.com/ ):  Suitable for drone App. Development; there is a mobile SDK, an onboard SDK, a guidance SDK, and SDKs for Android and iOS.

Parrot AR SDK (http://developer.parrot.com/ ): Covers the basics of drone development; including touch and tilt flight controls, live video streaming, video recording, and photo shooting. (Microsoft has used this, together with Kinect.)