Ok, I’m excited about the Artemis II launch.

It seems impossible to find an interesting podcast. All I’ve heard so far are superficial points and tons of vocal fry. Suggestions please. Any topic welcome.

The next batch of robot control PCBs will likely be the final design. The current batch was really helpful to stress test at max power, pinpoint the remaining issues and prototype the fixes that are already integrated in the design. This includes powering a Jetson Orin Nano.

Came across a multiple ground issue that disappears when I probe the board with the oscilloscope. When you get your robot, don’t mind the little tv with knobs duct taped on top of it.

“how the attacker got the npm token in the first place: by injecting a prompt into a GitHub issue title, which an AI triage bot read, interpreted as an instruction, and executed.” grith.ai/blog/clineje...

Should pivot to repairing Jetsons if all this AI robot thing flops. Over time, I've reversed engineered parts of the carrier board. Here's a simple fix for dead GPIO pins ⬇️

Why are all my apps blue and green now?

Our robot’s voltage regulators passed all our validation tests this week! It’s hard to get these at once: -stable output voltage -wide input voltage range -high output power -small footprint -reasonable temperature increase The latest prototypes show them all consistently.

3D printed power button and LED diffuser. I must have done like 20 prototypes of this part alone. My son now deems it "satisfying to press" (sound on).

What scares me most about relying too much on AI coding is that I might replace talking about what I do with talking about how productive I became.

The most unexpected lesson from this week is how difficult it is to make a button that feels ok.

Silicon Valley has been exploiting the idealism of high achievers for decades. I've seen many times this sort of reaction, to the realization that the company ultimately prioritizes making money.

This newsletter could have been sent last week, right? It is from 10 years ago.

Oh, no. Another robotics company that could not secure funding. I really liked their vision of approachable humanoids.

Some device tree black magic, I2S sorcery and I2C spells later and we got audio output! (audio is a tribute to HF1's favorite cousins)

Happy Groundhog Day!

So, I was able to make the Jetson talk to the audio chip via I2C, configure the PLL and clocks of the I2S interface, power the mic and read back audio (still not reaching the Jetson). Here's the Jetson saying "hey, chip, gimme register 6" and the chip replying "Mkey, it's 0".

This is going to sound weird. I used to have a European coworker in the Bay Area who was once looking for a place to rent. He ended up at a condo called Villa Granada. I had also been looking, so I had visited the place.

Today it's audio day. My latest robot PCB has an audio codec. Let's see if I can make the Jetson interface with it over I2S+I2C. It involves tinkering with device trees, so I don't expect it to be easy, but I'm so excited for hearing HF1 for the first time!

The new motor drivers and servo feedback in the latest PCB worked like a charm! After a long battle with regulator overheating and ringing, it's nice to have a small victory. The redesigned regulator coming in the next batch of PCB prototypes will hopefully behave, too.

We ain’t Boston Dynamics, but we also got snow.

DRAM shortage.

The simulation engine must be under some serious load today.

May your soldering sponge be always wet.

Image generation models are not a replacement for artists, but an additional level of abstraction. Artists still drive the intent, meaning and taste. Same for coding assistants and software developers.

I've been making test points reachable by putting them at the edge of the board. Not a good idea if you are as careless as me. One of them came from a thick trace capable of high current, but the trace to the test point was pretty thin. I accidentally 🧵

Does anyone else find increasingly difficult to focus on work with everything that’s going on in the world?

You have designed entire systems while others were talking to you about the weather.

When I first watched Hackers in the late 90s, I found it laughable. But rewatching it made me realize what I didn’t appreciate enough back then. The internet was self-expression and intellectual discovery, not the gamified doom scroll subscription prison we’re in today.

My 11yo and I have been watching @veritasium’s episode on non-humanoid robots. Oh, the fascination in his eyes seeing the scientists’ work. “Who are these people and how did they get there?”

Somebody find that DeLorean soon because we’re totally in Biff’s timeline.

Every new PCB component increases production complexity and cost, failure modes, supplier overhead and potential supply disruptions. Design for simplicity. Justify complexity. The circuit that never lets you down is the one that doesn’t exist.

Here's the trick (^ is XOR): a=a^b b=b^a a=a^b XOR's properties enabling trick: a^0=a a^a=0 a^b=b^a a^(b^c)=(a^b)^c Proof: //in a0=a b0=b //trick a1=a0^b0 b1=b0^a1=b0^(a0^b0)=(a0^b0)^b0=a0^(b0^b0)=a0^0=a0 a2=a1^b1=(a0^b0)^a0=(b0^a0)^a0=b0^(a0^a0)=b0^0=b0 //out a=a2=b0 b=b1=a0

Stack Underflow

You know I’m not a fan of the humanoid form stealing the spotlight, but I love how Boston Dynamics gave it a twist (literally) and redefined its kinematics. F$%ck joint constraints!

A circuit breaker tripped during our vacation and now my tomatoes have more hair than me.

Hello everybody out there using Amazon’s Astro, I’m doing a (hackable) home robot (just a hobby, won’t be big and professional like Astro). This has been brewing since april and is starting to get ready. I'd like any feedback on things people like/dislike in Astro…

You can be happy for a Venezuela free from Maduro and, at the same time, be mad at the US government for its colonialist practices and its disdain for checks and balances.

Are you fucking kidding me?

We're seeing lately advocacy for letting some AI-generated PRs into repos without review. The main points are: -AI is sufficiently good for small changes. -if the code base is well tested, risk is low. While I don't totally oppose to that, I wanted to add my 2 cents.⬇️

2025 was a year-long reminder of how difficult it is to ship robots. Hardware is hard, but robots are something else, and yet I think I'm pulling it off. I wrote a recap of my wins and struggles this year ⬇️

If you're on the HF1 robot wait list, this year's progress report should be in your inbox! Check the spam and promotions folders if you don’t see it. This is my first time using a mass email service.

Spent the morning working for the EU after integrating Google Analytics in my website. Thanks to the folks @silktide for making it so easy to add a cookie banner.

Sometimes brains dig up memories, long time lost. Today, it was that guy at a company I worked mid 2000s. We built websites. All throwaway code, little architecture. He knew Java Struts. He was passionate about Java Struts. He taught us Struts because Struts was the future.

Nothing to see here. Please disperse.

I don’t necessarily agree with the last part, but it’s interesting to read first hand info from a co-founder on what led to iRobot’s bankruptcy.

Should’ve posted this today instead.

K probe and thermal paste. Is this a good way to measure component surface temperature?

What's truly revolutionary (and cool, if you ask me) is being empathetic, kind and generous in a time when amorality is overtly displayed by those with power and influence.