🤖 Insecure Deebot robots collect photos and audio to train AI

Ecovacs Deebot vacuums have been caught gathering photos, videos, and voice recordings inside users' homes to train AI models. Despite privacy concerns, the company claims users willingly participate in a data collection program aimed at improving product functionality.

The program involves collecting 2D/3D house maps, microphone recordings, and camera images, some of which may be retained even if deleted. While Ecovacs says the data helps enhance AI capabilities, the company is under scrutiny due to cybersecurity flaws that could expose sensitive user information.

A similar issue arose with iRobot when intimate images taken by its vacuums were leaked online by contractors analyzing the footage, raising broader concerns about how companies handle user data. These incidents highlight the growing need for stronger safeguards to protect consumer privacy in smart home devices.

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#news #robots #artificial_intelligence #security

🎙 WiLo: Communication Standard for Long-Range IoT

Researchers have developed a new wireless technology called WiLo, which combines Wi-Fi and Long Range (LoRa) protocols to create a long-distance communication solution for IoT applications, such as agricultural sector and smart cities. WiLo uses existing Wi-Fi and LoRa hardware, minimizing costs and complexity.

The team developed an algorithm to manipulate Wi-Fi signals, allowing it to communicate like LoRa without extra equipment. Tests showed a 96% success rate over distances of up to 500 meters. Future work aims to improve energy efficiency and performance while ensuring security and industry compliance.

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🚀 SpaceX's Starship Achieves Milestone with Successful Booster Landing Using Robotic Arms

SpaceX's Starship successfully lifted off on its fifth test flight from a launch pad in Texas, marking a significant milestone for the company. This mission featured the first attempt to land the Super Heavy rocket booster using large robotic arms, often referred to as 'chopsticks.'

The robotic arms use advanced sensors and precision mechanics to grasp the booster in mid-air, enhancing the efficiency of recovery operations. This technology not only reduces the need for extensive refurbishment after each flight but also contributes to SpaceX's goal of making space travel more sustainable and cost-effective.

The successful demonstration of these robotic arms during the latest test flight highlights the potential for future advancements in rocket recovery and reusability.

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💻 Improving Embedded Systems with Design-by-Contract

Design-by-Contract (DbC) is a method that helps embedded software developers reduce the time spent debugging by ensuring each function has well-defined pre-conditions, post-conditions, side effects, and invariants. This approach creates "contracts" that must be followed for a function to operate properly, outlining what must be true before and after a function executes.

To enforce these contracts, developers can use assertions, which check that the conditions are met at runtime. If a condition isn't satisfied, the assertion signals a defect, making it easier to catch errors early. Assertions aren't used for error handling but for defect detection, ensuring that the system behaves as expected when calling functions or components.

// Example of DbC using assertions
void Dio_Init(DioConfig_t const* const Config)
{
  assert(sizeof(Config) > 0);
  assert(NUMBER_OF_CHANNELS_PER_PORT > 0);
  assert(NUMBER_OF_PORTS > 0);
  assert(Mcu_ClockState(GPIO) == true);

  // The rest of the function
}

DbC can be implemented simply, often through code documentation tools like 😹 Doxygen or directly within the code using assertions. While there may be a slight performance impact, developers can disable assertions before final deployment if necessary. Overall, DbC helps improve software quality, decreases debugging time, and enhances the reliability of embedded systems.

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#articles #programming

🖥 MIT Researchers Pioneer 3D-Printed Semiconductor-Free Electronics

MIT researchers have developed semiconductor-free, 3D-printed logic gates, marking a significant step toward fully 3D-printed active electronics. Using a copper-doped polymer material, they created resettable fuses that mimic some functions of semiconductor-based transistors, such as switching. Although their performance doesn’t yet match silicon transistors, these devices could be used for simpler tasks, like controlling electric motors.

The biodegradable, energy-efficient fabrication method could democratize electronics production by enabling people to print functional electronics outside of specialized facilities, with potential applications in areas like spacecraft. Further research aims to enhance device complexity and performance.

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#news #electronics

🤖 Robot Races Champion: Swiss-Mile Takes Second Place

In a recent video, Swiss-Mile engineers put their high-tech delivery robot to the test by racing it against a champion runner and the members of the team. The robot reached nearly 14 mph, securing second place and demonstrating impressive agility for a machine built for urban delivery. Equipped to shift from four wheels to two legs, the robot is designed to handle complex tasks autonomously. The video highlights its potential for agile, efficient urban deliveries, almost keeping pace with a human champion.

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🎹 FlexiPi: A Bendable, Versatile Raspberry Pi Clone (Kickstarter)

FlexiPi is a unique, bendable microcontroller board based on the 🍓 Raspberry Pi RP2040. Designed by TOP Gadgets, this innovative take on the Raspberry Pi Pico integrates a flexible PCB and USB-C connectivity, offering the same power as the original but with added versatility for compact or irregular enclosures.

Features of the microcontroller:
➡️Ideal for tight spaces and curved surfaces.
➡️Built on the dual-core Cortex-M0+ RP2040, overclockable to 133 MHz.
➡️Features a USB-C port for modern compatibility.
➡️26 GPIOs, including ADC, UART, I2C, SPI, and PWM.
➡️Includes RGB LED, temperature sensor, and RTC.
➡️Supports Raspberry Pi Pico SDKs (C/C++, MicroPython, CircuitPython) and Arduino IDE.

The project is ongoing on Kickstarter and it is interesting to see how people are trying to commercialize this technology. Overall it is a useful project for engineers looking to integrate powerful microcontroller functionality into constrained or curved spaces.

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#projects #raspberry

👩‍💻 Kickstart Your Raspberry Pi Pico with VS Code

Setting up a development environment for the 🍓 Raspberry Pi Pico can be daunting, especially with the variety of languages and tools available. While MicroPython and CircuitPython simplify things for beginners, using C/C++ offers greater control and flexibility—at the cost of a more complex setup process.

Fortunately, Raspberry Pi's official extension for Microsoft Visual Studio Code is a game-changer, making it easier than ever to get started with C/C++ on the Pico. This guide will give you a quick walk though the steps needed to start embedded development with Pico on Windows environment.

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