Samwise Makers' News
Tuesday, May 12, 2026
Muxcard: A Credit Card Computer That Actually Fits in All Three Dimensions
The Muxcard is a fully functional computer that adheres to ISO/IEC 7810 ID-1 credit card dimensions in all three axes, including the critical 0.76mm thickness. Powered by an ESP32-C3 microcontroller, it integrates a flexible ePaper display, NFC, environmental sensors, and a thin lithium battery within a genuine NFC card shell with the center removed. The flexible PCB and ultra-thin display variants were both required to hit the form factor specification. Most credit card-sized computers ignore thickness constraints; the Muxcard treats all three dimensions as hard requirements. Files are open source and available on GitHub.
Sources: Hackaday
Unitree G1 Humanoid Robot Delivers Real Force Feedback for Driving Simulator
A researcher has demonstrated a force-feedback driving simulator using a Unitree G1 humanoid robot. The G1 positions itself behind the player's chair, grasping it with its articulated hands; spherical fiducial markers on the chair give the robot's depth camera precise positional reference. Real-time G-force data fed from Assetto Corsa on PC instructs the robot to tilt and shift the chair in sync with in-game acceleration and cornering events. No hardware modifications to the chair are required. Participants reported the synchronized feedback felt accurate and enjoyable, though some rough edges remain. The project explores humanoid robots as general-purpose haptic interface devices.
Sources: Hackaday
Mermaid in the Shell: A Fully Featured Cyberdeck Hidden Inside a Seashell Clutch Purse
Maker [bossbratox] has built a fully functional portable computer inside a pink seashell-shaped frame clutch purse, calling it Mermaid in the Shell. The hardware centers on a Raspberry Pi 3A+ paired with a ZitaoTech BB Q10 keyboard in white and a 3.5-inch touchscreen. A custom terminal user interface provides Wi-Fi and Bluetooth management, a full terminal, a remote serial monitor, a local LLM chatbot, a PDF reader, a text editor, and a mermaid-themed digital pet that is user-skinnable via code published on GitHub. The project deliberately embraces a feminine aesthetic, offering an explicit contrast to the typical utilitarian cyberdeck design language.
Sources: Hackaday
Researcher Fully Reverse-Engineers the Fisher Price Pixter Handheld Line
Researcher [Dmitry] has reverse-engineered, ROM-dumped, and comprehensively documented the full Fisher Price Pixter product line, a touchscreen educational handheld sold between 2000 and 2007 across multiple hardware generations. The classic Pixter contains a black-blob 6502 processor and an 8-bit virtual machine, while the later Pixter Color uses the ARM-based LH7541 SoC running a 16-bit stack-based virtual machine, possibly because the original SoC selection changed mid-development. [Dmitry] also reverse-engineered and dumped game cartridges and wrote emulators to preserve the Pixter library long-term. The project originated as a potential PalmOS porting target for the Color hardware.
Sources: Hackaday
Fiber Bragg Grating Sensing Cables That Detect Earthquakes Can Also Hear You Speak
Scientists using Fiber Bragg Grating fiber optic cables for distributed acoustic sensing have highlighted an unexpected security implication: the same technique used to detect earthquakes can potentially detect human speech near the cable. The method fires a laser down a fiber containing deliberate periodic defect structures; vibrations alter the reflection pattern, enabling precise localization. The technique is currently limited to above-ground coiled fiber and requires proximity within approximately five meters, but researchers note that unused dark fiber is widespread in urban infrastructure. The dual-use sensitivity is relevant for makers and security professionals working with distributed acoustic sensing systems.
Sources: Hackaday
This Water Clock Uses Glass-Bottle Fifteen-Segment Displays Driven by Peristaltic Pumps
YouTube channel Strange Inventions has built a striking digital water clock using glass-bottle fifteen-segment displays. Each digit consists of nine glass bottles filled with dyed water via a stepper-driven peristaltic pump supplemented by membrane-pump boosters for faster fill speed. Emptying is handled by a servo mechanism that tips all nine bottles simultaneously into a collection trough, eliminating individual drain pumps and reducing per-digit cycle time significantly. Designing a 3D-printed linkage to flip all nine bottles in a single servo stroke required extensive iteration, but the results demonstrate a compelling approach to kinetic digital displays combining precise fluid control with additive manufacturing.
Sources: Hackaday
Pi Slate Is a Pre-Order Raspberry Pi 5 Cyberdeck with a 5-Inch 1920×720 Touchscreen
The Pi Slate is a new handheld Linux cyberdeck built around the Raspberry Pi 5, now available for pre-order from CarbonComputers. The device integrates a 5-inch 1920×720 touchscreen, a backlit RGB keyboard with an integrated cursor, and a 10,000 mAh battery rated for three to five hours of portable use. Modular expansion supports HAT add-ons including LoRa, SDR, and AI accelerator boards. The barebones kit starts at USD 282.08, excluding the Raspberry Pi 5 and active cooling; fully assembled configurations reach USD 706.60. Compared to CarbonComputers' own Pi Flux, the Pi Slate prioritises portability and compact form over additional mounting real estate.
Sources: CNX Software
Top Crowdfunding
Kickstarter / Crowd Supply
1. M5Stack CardputerZero — Kickstarter, live now, early bird $59–$89
2. Prunt Board 3 — Crowd Supply, $9,500 goal, live since May 2
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Upcoming Events
Hackaday Europe — May 16–17, Lecco, Italy
Open Hardware Summit 2026 — May 23–24, Berlin, Germany
Maker Faire Long Island — June 6, Stony Brook, NY
Curated by JD · samwise.agency
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