maker community

Espressif's latest ESP32 chip can now boot Linux, a milestone for a microcontroller line traditionally limited to bare-metal and RTOS work. Reports note the low-cost chip is approaching entry-level Raspberry Pi capability, sparking debate among makers about whether cheap microcontrollers could soon replace single-board computers for simple projects.

A maker is revisiting their Archimedes robot owl project from 2021, explaining that moonstones were used for its backlit eyes. The stones look striking in normal light while also working as LED diffusers, giving the owl a soft glow. The project is documented on Hackster.io, and robotics hobbyists are sharing appreciation for the elegant combination of natural materials and electronics.

Slow Pour Brewing in Lawrenceville, Georgia, is hosting a Sunday Market inviting local residents to browse and buy from local artisans. The event promotes crafts and books alongside the brewery's beer, with a call to support small makers in the Atlanta area. The pop-up market format pairs shopping with a casual brewery setting on Sunday.

A developer has released an open-source tool that uses AI to generate Lego-style models, sharing it as a Show HN project on Hacker News. The project, hosted on GitHub under the name ldraw-nova, is drawing attention from the maker and AI communities, with users discussing what it can build and how it works.

German tech outlet Heise has published a video tutorial showing how to build a DIY USB sound card using the Raspberry Pi Pico 2. The microcontroller's onboard programmable I/O makes it flexible enough to act as a sound processor, and the guide walks viewers through the full process. Hobbyist electronics projects like this are popular in the maker community, and the Pi Pico line remains a favorite for cheap audio experiments.

3D printer maker Bambu Lab has launched a Halloween sale cutting prices by up to 30% across its printer range, alongside bulk discounts on filament rolls. The promotion is being shared among maker and tech communities, with buyers urged to take advantage before the seasonal deal ends.

CHOMPI, a portable sampler instrument popular with amateur and hobbyist musicians, has released both its hardware and software as open-source. The move means users can now inspect, modify and build on the design themselves. The maker has published details on its website, and the announcement is drawing attention from musicians and makers interested in DIY instruments.

A maker project featured on Hackaday uses an Arduino-driven pen plotter to draw the Moon in detailed contour prints, turning lunar surface imagery into line art that can be reproduced at home. Enthusiasts in the plotting and electronics communities are sharing it, praising the combination of art, robotics and space imagery in an accessible DIY build.

Artist Niklas Roy has built the Glashütte Trash Clock, a pendulum clock made from discarded materials that runs on a 30-minute cycle. The project plays on the name of Germany's famous watchmaking town, known for precision timepieces, by applying the same principle to rubbish. It is being shared and discussed on Hacker News, where makers and clock enthusiasts are weighing in on the design and craftsmanship.

La MaMa and Spiderwoman Theater are presenting a Global Indigenous Theatre Festival in New York, bringing together Indigenous artists and productions from around the world. The programme highlights Indigenous storytelling on an international stage and continues both organisations' long histories of championing experimental and underrepresented voices in theatre.

Hackaday has published a piece exploring the use of OpenSCAD, the open-source 3D modelling software usually associated with parametric design and 3D printing, in a gardening context. The writeup has drawn modest attention among open-source hardware enthusiasts, who enjoy seeing maker tools applied outside their usual workshop settings, though details of the project itself remain limited to the article.

Developer Carlos Antelo has released ldraw-nova, an open-source tool that lets large language models such as GPT-6 Astra and Claude Opus 5.5 design LEGO models as LDraw CAD files. The resulting builds use more than 2,000 real pieces, meaning designs can actually be assembled with existing bricks rather than remaining purely digital concepts.

The CHOMPI Sampler, a small standalone audio sampler popular with hobbyist musicians, has been released as an open source project. Its design files are now publicly available, allowing users to study, modify and build their own versions of the device. The move has drawn attention in the maker and electronic music communities, where open sourcing music hardware is often celebrated as a way to encourage experimentation and community-driven development.

A hobbyist robotics project called dogsbod has been presented online: a homemade quadruped robot designed, built and programmed from scratch to walk across complex terrain. The writeup describes the design and construction process and cites the builder's long-standing fascination with four-legged robots as the motivation for the build.

Engineers have demonstrated a way to hold objects against a ceiling without any physical contact, using high-frequency vibration — most likely acoustic levitation, where sound waves generate pressure that pins lightweight items in place. The writeup walks through the physics and the DIY build. Makers and science hobbyists are sharing it, impressed that near-field levitation can be done with inexpensive hardware.

A widely shared explainer traces how open source software and community-driven projects shaped the development of FPV (first-person view) drones, from flight controller firmware to ground station tools. The piece highlights how hobbyist collaboration, rather than proprietary development, drove much of the innovation behind today's popular drone racing and freestyle scenes, drawing strong engagement from the drone and maker communities.

A new tutorial explains how to build a Raspberry Pi-based AI companion featuring a real-time animated face created with Rive AI. The project combines affordable hardware, AI software, and expressive animation, and is being shared across robotics, coding, and engineering communities. Enthusiasts are discussing it as an accessible entry point into personal AI robotics.

Hackaday features a DIY electronic busy board, an interactive activity panel built for children that doubles as an electronics project for makers. The write-up highlights how switches, lights and other components make it engaging for kids while giving hackers a fun hardware build. It is being shared among the DIY and maker community.

A pool owner found the robot cleaner's drive so worn that the propeller kept slipping, and responded by designing a replacement part in FreeCAD and 3D printing it. The new orange drive spins constantly and engages the propeller through a helical dog clutch, so the propeller only turns when the two parts lock together. The post shows the finished fix, drawing attention for its neat engineering approach to repair rather than replacement.

Hindus for Human Rights is hosting an interfaith screening of the film 'Satluj' in Milpitas, California, followed by a question-and-answer session with the director. The event brings together community members of different faiths to watch the film and discuss its themes directly with its maker. Interest centres on the film's subject matter and the dialogue it sparks at the gathering.

KidCue, a visual schedule app designed to help children manage routines and time, has been featured on Awesome Indie, a showcase for independent products. The listing places the app in education, productivity and time management categories and invites visitors to upvote it. The feature gives the small indie project visibility among early adopters looking for tools that support children's daily structure.