Nearly every engineer loves Dilbert. Now Scott Adams, the creator of our favorite nerd, has created a new site called the "Lazy Entrepreneur", which promises, "all talk and no funding." The site encourages fans (and In-Duh-Viduals who can find the site) an opportunity to share their good ideas for a new invention.
Even though the site launched a few months ago, there are already tons of ideas, including some from Mr. Adams himself. How about a find-your-car-device—a string of lights placed on your antenna with a remote control on your keychain? Or a suspended track chair for those worthy few who have a large workspace? (Wouldn't this be even better with a small electric motor, too?) How about electronic wallpaper regulated by a low-voltage current running through a chemical mesh glued to the wall of your house? (No more washing walls either, just key in a darker color!) There's even a suggestion for an empty parking space detector with a zoomable map showing empty spots plus an indicator of parking meter status. (Some visitors have already mentioned that this exists in Europe!)
JUNE 26TH WEBCAST: Collaborative Requirements Engineering
Speed your innovation. Capture the "voice of the customer" and translate customer requests into user requirements that define new products. Find out why the new ENOVIA Requirements Management solution enables organizations to improve their overall global requirements management process. Read More
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Successful synergistic integration of controls, electronics, computers and mechanical systems is key to the 21st century design process. Unlock the secrets at the Mechatronics Zone!
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Join our moderator Randy Frank and John Keating from Cognex and explore Solving Industrial Inspection Problems. Read More
Engineering Concept Conduit
Engineering Concept Conduit looks at new products and the components that make them exceptional. Each month we’ll look at a new electronic product and see what makes it tick from an engineering point of view. We’ll explore the design and engineering challenges for the product and examine the components that solved those challenges.
Light Matters: Systems Level Approach to HBLED illumination applications
Its good practice to apply a systems-level approach to high-brightness LED (HBLED) illumination applications. Minimally, the system includes the optical, thermal and electrical characteristics of the of the HBLED, the lens (if any) which is built-in to its package, secondary optics such as external plastic lenses/reflectors to direct the light as your application requires and power driver electronics. Read More