Re: [DIYbio] Amazon unintentionally solves "low cost lab automation device" challenges

On 12/03/2015 03:20 PM, Jonathan Cline wrote:
> The only external hardware should be the minimal analog hardware, such as the analog buffers and sensors and transducers themselves.

And the plastics and switches and buttons.

Like this concept. But I'd go even more minimal than a tablet. There needs to be a product for that purpose.
Beyond breakout boards. Prototyping tools for such systems with OSHW licenses for the circuitry
and the plastic enclosure. It's on my to do list.

On 12/03/2015 07:23 PM, Simon Quellen Field wrote:
> Now that cheap boards are available with WiFi and web servers built-in​, I can control everything from my desk, or from a coffee
> shop, or a beach in Bermuda.

> The killer is that the tablet doesn't have the GPIO pins available. So go with the $9 computer and the web page

Yes, and with the utility of being waterproof, the audio jack may go away on most cell-phone-like-computers soon.
Near filed communications, NFC, could be a way to utilize standard tablets soon.

The exposure to the open internet of attackers is trouble that needs to be dealt with. I still like the idea of a gateway
computer dealing with the IPv6 address assignments, firewalling, and encrypted access. Then you can make that box about security,
whereas firewall and encryption in each little lab equipment seems too costly so leaving it out gives security holes.

So letting the equipment be a specific IO and button UI and readout UI and safety-housing design without a "cell phone like
tablet" attached to each makes sense and plugs some attack avenues and portholes.

The chips and boards seem to have good choices, but I've found a gap in availability of plastic housings for systems
with any narrow app like lab equipment. You can print something light that fits in your hand for $8, and you can hire protomold
to make 3000 of them for $2k setup and maybe $.50/piece ==> $1.20 each. If you want a batch for beta testers to try that
you *KNOW* will be getting changes, the protomold way would waste several $2k tooling charges just learning as you go. 3D
printing is great for learning some things that you see obviously when you turn it over in your hand, or fit two parts together,
or add circuit boards, sensors, cables, solar cells, but at $8 each you're not going to ship many to beta testers, are you?

So I'm learning the prices of some smooth plastic 3Dprinting from Stratasys called polyjet "ABS-like" material. It can be used as
low volume injection molding tooling for 100 shots they say. Next I'm learning about small DIY extruders for hot plastic that
can be built for $300 and I'll add automation to see if they could be made ready to use by contract manufacturers. That would
fill the gap of no $2 per part 100 to 500 part batches available now. Some things you learn by using, so then you can upgrade
your 3D design easily cheaply if done by low volume molding. Maybe tablets will become building blocks to use when NFC is everywhere.

On 12/03/2015 08:07 PM, Jonathan Cline wrote:> The best minimal design approach using my suggestion would be to build basic
analog-only hardware circuits, then allow the
> progressive stream of lower cost tablets (un-modified, plus a simple app store install) -- that's the design boundary which
> constantly evolves to better capabilities at lower price points-- to be the user-facing front panel of the analog sensors and
> circuitry.

Have you identified any usable tablets, or are you meaning, use them when OS support for webi2c starts or when NFC is similarly
"built-in" to linux and android?


On 12/03/2015 08:07 PM, Jonathan Cline wrote:> I like where WebI2C has been going, it's been a work in progress for a while,
though the proof will be in the browsers (coupled
> with both the hardware support and O/S support).

So, that would require a kernel module for running linux? What would WebI2C need on android?

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