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  • thatdecade's Avatar
    thatdecade
    Infantryman
    • Apr 2009
    • 866

    Keep your head down, there's two of us in here now

    #1
    02-03-2011, 09:30 PM
    Cortana Data Chip design
    Updated 7/2/2012

    Current Status: COMPLETE
    07/02/2012
    Quick rundown of the final feature set:
    • Shell designed and cast by JUSTINIAN of branfuhrstudios.com
    • Internal circuit by thatdecade (me)
      • Press button to activate lights
      • Lights turn off by themselves after 5 minutes
      • Press the button again to restart the light animations
      • Recharge with included USB cable
      • Charging takes just a few minutes and lasts for hours
    • Paint job by jlhr2 (mostly hangs out on the soarinhammer forums)


    104_7281.JPG by thatdecade, on Flickr

    Easter egg: Look a video demo

    Link to post: http://www.405th.com/showthread.php/...890#post616890

    06/20/2012
    Gearing up for mass offering, thatdecade@gmail for pre-orders.



    Link to post: http://www.405th.com/showthread.php/...817#post614817

    03-04-2012
    Struggled a bit making all the goodies fit, but was well worth the results~!



    Link to post: http://www.405th.com/showthread.php/...230#post596230

    02-17-2012
    The prototype battery board completed and finished mocking up the shell.


    Link to post: http://www.405th.com/showthread.php/...099#post594099

    09-05-2011
    Minor update from jlhR2 and the shell build team. Since last post there was a snag in the modelers progress working on the shell design and he was forced to abandon his participation in the design. We do have his model and we are putting the finishing touches on it.

    Below is one of my AI chips installed in a helmet. Best install I've seen yet, way to go Sir Tsaboc~!
    Carter Commando Helmet (Blackula) A.I. integration


    Link to post: http://www.405th.com/showthread.php/...659#post564659

    04-26-2011
    Working hard on the next stage of the project: Make a plastic shell that houses the circuit and a battery (team jlhR2).
    Link to post: http://www.405th.com/showthread.php/...659#post526659

    Video demo of using the cortana chip as a switch


    04-18-2011
    PCB order is in, could mass produce a few right now if I wanted.
    Link to post: http://www.405th.com/showthread.php/...595#post524595

    04-06-2011
    First prototype is fully assembled, ready to proceed to stage 3 on the schedule.
    Link to post: http://www.405th.com/showthread.php/...203#post521203

    03-22-2011
    A nice explanation of all that the cortana board can do.
    Link to post: http://www.405th.com/showthread.php/...216#post517216

    03-21-2011
    First few revisions of the circuit board have been assembled and tested. Slot connector works great~! I ran out of those tiny smd LEDs and ordered some more. Will get one completely assembled later this week.
    Link to post: http://www.405th.com/showthread.php/...210#post516210

    Bringing in the latest pictures and videos to page 1.

    02-03-2011
    I am still working on a final draft of the main board design, but here is the gist of what it will do and look like: First, the size is tiny. The thing is as small as the real deal, 1.00x1.85 inches (25x47 mm).

    JlhR2 and I are still working on a pep template / mold that will go over the top.


    Progress Photos

    Cortana Sketches by thatdecade, on Flickr


    Cortana Data Chip Dimensional Outline by thatdecade, on Flickr



    Video Demos

    Light Animation Prototyped


    Current feature set:[list][*]Circuit board is designed to look like a naked "cortana" data chip.[*]Board can be placed in a molded outer shell to be more accurate. More detai
    Last edited by thatdecade; 07-03-2012, 12:01 AM.
    Tags: None

  • lordzoabar's Avatar
    lordzoabar
    Infantryman
    • Feb 2010
    • 501
    #2
    02-03-2011, 09:54 PM
    You sir... are officially the God of electronics. O_O

    Comment


    • ventrue's Avatar
      ventrue
      Infantryman
      • Sep 2010
      • 2743
      #3
      02-04-2011, 07:04 AM
      Yay, it has its own thread! Question time :-)

      First of all, why so small? Wouldn't a more realistic size give you a lot more freedom design-wise?

      Do you have anything in mind to put around it? I thought it might be a good idea to somehow cast something like this in clear resin and then leave the "window" on top unpainted. Or maybe get some cut glass stone to put on top of the LEDs for cool refractions and reflections and then cast the whole thing in non-clear resin.

      By the way, I think the "destroy upon capture" is what really sells this :-D
      Last edited by ventrue; 02-04-2011, 06:48 PM. Reason: I missed a W and created a hole. How embarassing.

      Comment


      • thatdecade's Avatar
        thatdecade
        Infantryman
        • Apr 2009
        • 866
        #4
        02-04-2011, 07:57 AM
        lol, thanks. DESTROY UPON CAPTURE is one of my favorite parts.

        Smaller = cheaper to fabricate. This is the forth version that I re-drew from scratch, takes a lot of hours to get a circuit that looks right and still functions. Old versions were twice as large or bigger. I pay per the square inch for fabrication, so twice as large = four times the cost. At the current size the pcb fabrication cost is reasonable, ~$5.

        Wow, awesome idea to cast it inside of a clear resin mold!. The paint job would add the finishing touches. Need to leave accessible the USB port and switch, I'm not sure how to cast that.

        My goal was to make the circuit look amazing without adding anything, but while keeping in mind that a lot of people would want to add more. I am still working on a tracing pattern that can be cut out of wood or plexi and glued on top of the circuit to give it more depth. Would look something like below.


        template_overlay by thatdecade, on Flickr
        Last edited by thatdecade; 02-04-2011, 08:00 AM.

        Comment


        • Upchuk's Avatar
          Upchuk
          Infantryman
          • Oct 2009
          • 142
          #5
          02-04-2011, 08:01 AM
          DO WANT! Wow, this is amazing! Ill have to keep an eye on this!

          Comment


          • JUSTINIAN 117's Avatar
            JUSTINIAN 117
            Infantryman
            • Oct 2010
            • 819
            #6
            02-04-2011, 09:52 AM
            I like the way this looks. Would you be making one or a bunch (hint hint sell them).

            Comment


            • ventrue's Avatar
              ventrue
              Infantryman
              • Sep 2010
              • 2743
              #7
              02-04-2011, 06:55 PM
              Originally posted by thatdecade View Post
              Smaller = cheaper to fabricate.
              Mh, money is always a really good argument :-D

              Comment


              • GunGryphon's Avatar
                GunGryphon
                Infantryman
                • Oct 2010
                • 114
                #8
                02-04-2011, 07:11 PM
                Indeed, people are always going to want to add more bells and whistles to their gadgets. Theres a dozen neat things you could do with this, like integrate an Duo or mini SD card into the chip for data storage, or running the charge port though the contact points instead of a mini usb slot. That way, you could plug it into your helmet for charging.

                The capacitor is a neat idea, however I do believe that there are many watch batteries that would both fit in the same size slot and would last for hours instead of the few minutes of a capacitor.

                Cant wait to see this come out:
                -Gryphon

                Comment


                • thatdecade's Avatar
                  thatdecade
                  Infantryman
                  • Apr 2009
                  • 866
                  #9
                  02-04-2011, 09:48 PM
                  Ran the numbers on the watch batteries. The watch batteries that are small enough are also not powerful enough to run the LEDs without exploding.

                  Comment


                  • thatdecade's Avatar
                    thatdecade
                    Infantryman
                    • Apr 2009
                    • 866
                    #10
                    02-06-2011, 07:29 AM
                    Looking at another redesign, adding a microcontroller to blink the LEDs and increase battery life.

                    Comment


                    • ventrue's Avatar
                      ventrue
                      Infantryman
                      • Sep 2010
                      • 2743
                      #11
                      02-06-2011, 09:09 AM
                      Originally posted by thatdecade View Post
                      Looking at another redesign, adding a microcontroller to blink the LEDs and increase battery life.
                      Wohoo!
                      Arduino please. With an ICSP connector :-)

                      Comment


                      • drgon47's Avatar
                        drgon47
                        Infantryman
                        • Jul 2007
                        • 1280
                        #12
                        02-06-2011, 09:31 AM
                        How about some of the 3v cr123 batteries?

                        Comment


                        • thatdecade's Avatar
                          thatdecade
                          Infantryman
                          • Apr 2009
                          • 866
                          #13
                          02-06-2011, 03:32 PM
                          Circuit shown is smaller than a cr2013.

                          Ventrue, a picture of that connector please.

                          Comment


                          • ventrue's Avatar
                            ventrue
                            Infantryman
                            • Sep 2010
                            • 2743
                            #14
                            02-06-2011, 03:43 PM
                            Originally posted by thatdecade View Post
                            Ventrue, a picture of that connector please.
                            Well, any connector will do, I guess. The usual 2x6 pins are probably a little large for this purpose, not sure what else you could use.
                            My idea was that it would be cool to be able to re-porgram the chip with custom blinking. Or custom colours, if you decide to take this to yet another level and use RGB LEDs (which might be cool as well, now that I think of it... but it would impact the costs!).

                            Comment


                            • thatdecade's Avatar
                              thatdecade
                              Infantryman
                              • Apr 2009
                              • 866
                              #15
                              02-07-2011, 08:35 AM
                              I do not have a chip selected yet, am looking over the attinys. The 8 pin ttsop is only a few milimeters and has 5 i/o. If I go RGB, will need 2 more i/o than that.

                              For the connector, I will need to have a connector on board to program the smd chip anyway. Am thinking I can make the bottom slot connector functional, need 6 pins to program. There are 6 pads on the bottom.

                              Comment

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