Samwise Makers' News
Wednesday, May 20, 2026
DecayDock: ESP32-CAM Companion Tracks Fridge Freshness With Edge AI
DecayDock is a smart fridge companion built around an ESP32-CAM module. Mounted near a refrigerator, the device uses its onboard camera and an edge AI model to identify common food items held before it. Recognized foods are logged to an internal inventory and tracked against expected shelf lives. A color-coded LCD — green, yellow, or red — shows freshness at a glance. The system estimates spoilage risk rather than detecting actual degradation, but serves as a practical reminder to eat items before they expire. Creator ptallthings93 documented the complete build on Instructables, making it straightforward for others to replicate.
Sources: Hackaday
Pip-Boy on Your Wrist: Huy Vector Builds Fallout Smartwatch Around ESP32-S3
Huy Vector has built a Fallout-inspired Pip-Boy smartwatch around a Seeed Studio Xiao ESP32-S3 microcontroller. The wrist-worn device features a 1.54-inch LCD displaying the iconic green-on-black Pip-Boy interface, a MAX30102 heart rate sensor for biometric monitoring, and copper tubing repurposed as capacitive touch controls. A lithium-ion cell tucked behind the display provides power; a leather strap completes the wearable. More compact than the chunky forearm device from the game, it retains the retro-futuristic aesthetic fans love. Huy Vector documented the full build on his personal site and shared a companion video demonstrating the watch in action.
Sources: Hackaday
Rapid PCB Prototyping: The Raccoon Lab Uses a 3D Printer and Copper Tape
The Raccoon Lab demonstrates a rapid PCB prototyping technique using only a standard 3D printer and copper tape. Circuits are designed in KiCad with deliberately wide traces, then exported to 3D CAD software where the traces are extruded to two millimeters of height. The printed substrate is then covered in copper tape and trimmed along the raised trace edges to isolate individual conductive paths. While resolution is limited and the result is not production-ready, the method is more accessible than CNC milling and lets hobbyists test simple microcontroller circuits within hours. A build video documents the entire process from KiCad layout to finished board.
Sources: Hackaday
DIY Portable Magnetometer: ESP32 and Fluxgate Sensors Map Invisible Fields
Builder edosari50 has created a portable magnetic field mapper using an ESP32 microcontroller integrated with a 4.3-inch touchscreen display. An Arduino Nano handles low-level communication with a pair of EMS100 fluxgate magnetic sensors, relaying readings to the ESP32 over UART. Power comes from dual 18650 lithium-ion cells regulated by an XL4005 DC-DC converter, with an onboard charging module keeping them topped up. Scan results are visualized as heatmaps directly on the device and can be exported to SD card for later analysis. The build has practical applications in geology, underground anomaly hunting, and characterizing homemade electromagnets.
Sources: Hackaday
The 8-Bit Web Server: AVR Microcontroller Hosts a Live Public Webpage
Developer maurycyz has achieved the remarkable feat of hosting a live website on a bare AVR 8-bit microcontroller with just 8KB of RAM and 64KB of flash. Rather than Ethernet, the MCU connects to a Linux host via SLIP — an ancient serial line internet protocol from the dial-up era. Linux routes traffic to the public internet through a WireGuard VPN tunnel. The AVR handles full HTTP request parsing and response generation in software, tracking TCP connection state and managing packet retransmission without any dedicated networking chip. The server currently hosts one live page. Practical? No. Impressively minimal? Absolutely.
Sources: Hackaday
Inside the Pulse Oximeter: How Two LEDs Reveal Your Blood Oxygen Level
Hackaday's medical column explains how the finger-clip pulse oximeter measures blood oxygen. The device shines red light at 660nm and infrared at 940nm through a fingertip, measuring each wavelength's absorption. Oxygenated and deoxygenated hemoglobin absorb these wavelengths at distinct ratios — a discovery made by engineer Takuo Aoyagi at Nihon Kohden in 1972. By isolating the pulsatile arterial signal from the steady background absorption, the device calculates both oxygen saturation (SpO2) and pulse rate simultaneously. Limitations include sensitivity to motion, nail polish, and an inability to detect carbon monoxide poisoning — a known gap in emergency clinical settings.
Sources: Hackaday
Bent Wood, Not Broken: Recreating a Laminated Furniture Part From Scratch
John's Furniture Repair demonstrates recreating a curved laminated wood component from a popular Scandinavian lounge chair after the original cracked near a bolt hole. The process begins by tracing the broken part onto MDF to create a two-piece clamping mold. Thin wood veneer strips are then stacked, glued, and pressed into the form until the adhesive cures. The repaired part is released, trimmed to final dimensions, and sanded smooth for reinstallation. No specialized machinery is needed beyond basic woodworking tools and the ability to build a simple mold — a transferable skill applicable to extending the life of quality laminated furniture.
Sources: Hackaday
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