And the nerd/hacker/enthusiast in me would gladly put down the cash to make it happen.
However, I also run into a wall when thinking of what to do with such a device. I'm not inspired by webcam+embedded linux. I don't want home automation. I already have devices hooked up to a TV. I work on the Kindles, which use Android (Fire) and embedded Linux (eink), so I can't argue buying a BeagleBoard for educational reasons.
Every time a product like this comes up, I get excited and start searching the TI website or BeagleBoard.org or Raspberry Pi or Arduino for lists of related components I could purchase to put together. Make my own weather station? I live in Seattle, the weather never changes :). What about a toiler paper roll sensor so I know if I need to buy more next time I'm at costco? (with a gf, this is hard problem!). I don't want this electronic staying in the bathroom around the moisture. What about getting a blue light star tracker and calculating celestial position like the old stealth fighters did? Cool, but kind of niche.
The closest idea I came up with is making an RC car. It would get me into the shop to make a frame, perhaps use a 3D printer for mold coverings, and be a fun demo with friends. When I start looking for motors, I get stuck finding a place to buy a motor. Take this page, for example:
It's unclear to me if this page is a 'kit' for a large shop who want to try out this motor for a specific application. Or do I really need the huge controller board to operate this brushless motor?
Also, is it even possible to buy 4 or 8 of the motors? Or do I really need to put in an order of 1k or 10k units?!?!
Forgive the naive question, but where do other people go shopping for related components like a motor to wire together with these kits? What am I doing wrong?
And the nerd/hacker/enthusiast in me would gladly put down the cash to make it happen.
However, I also run into a wall when thinking of what to do with such a device. I'm not inspired by webcam+embedded linux. I don't want home automation. I already have devices hooked up to a TV. I work on the Kindles, which use Android (Fire) and embedded Linux (eink), so I can't argue buying a BeagleBoard for educational reasons.
Every time a product like this comes up, I get excited and start searching the TI website or BeagleBoard.org or Raspberry Pi or Arduino for lists of related components I could purchase to put together. Make my own weather station? I live in Seattle, the weather never changes :). What about a toiler paper roll sensor so I know if I need to buy more next time I'm at costco? (with a gf, this is hard problem!). I don't want this electronic staying in the bathroom around the moisture. What about getting a blue light star tracker and calculating celestial position like the old stealth fighters did? Cool, but kind of niche.
The closest idea I came up with is making an RC car. It would get me into the shop to make a frame, perhaps use a 3D printer for mold coverings, and be a fun demo with friends. When I start looking for motors, I get stuck finding a place to buy a motor. Take this page, for example:
http://www.ti.com/tool/dk-lm4f-drv8312
It's unclear to me if this page is a 'kit' for a large shop who want to try out this motor for a specific application. Or do I really need the huge controller board to operate this brushless motor?
Also, is it even possible to buy 4 or 8 of the motors? Or do I really need to put in an order of 1k or 10k units?!?!
Forgive the naive question, but where do other people go shopping for related components like a motor to wire together with these kits? What am I doing wrong?