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I first published my concept for the Navicube back in
Hardware Hacker #7. Since I haven't done very much
with it since, this library page is more or less of a
place marker. I have revalidated it to modern standards
and added a very few key navigation resources.

The Navicube was a three inch cube that always knew
where it was, where north was, and which end was up.

At its inception, systems to do this were enormously
large, complex, and expensive. At present, we seem to
be just turning the corner on miniature and low cost
solutions to the general navigation problem.

Uses? You could wander through a cave and simply
bounce the Navicube off the walls and ceiling. Where
it would later produce a full cave map for you. You
could mail a Navicube to someone and they could
then follow it back to you. Shipments and activities
could easily be tracked. Whole new features could
be added to video games, cell phones, and most any
interactivity in general.

There are several main elements to the navicube
"solution"...

GPS NAVIGATION -- a group of
satellites that continuously reports
worldwide position. Require fancy
techniques for extreme accuracy and
is largely outdoors only.

ACCELLEROMETERS -- If you
integrate accelleration, you get velocity.
Integrate velocity for position. But even
the  slightest inaccuracy will pile up as a
time squared  position error Measuring
the earth's gravity can  give you a relative
3-axis orientation.

GYROS -- A gyroscope uses angular momentum
or differential travel times to maintain its
present orientation. Low cost solid state versions
are just starting to become available at
reasonable costs.

FLUXGATES -- This is one popular form of
magnetometer, useful as an electronic compass.
A magnetic core is switched in and out of
saturation. Any external field biases the
results for a useful output. Inclinometers
are easily done as well. Some issues with
declination and local distortion.

 

Original Navicube Paper from  Hardware Hacker II      Go to page 7.1 of this older archive for the initial description of      the navicube. A 3 inch cube that always knows where it is,      which way is up, and the direction to north.

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Blatant Opportunist #4  EMERGOP1.PDF      Our firs review of emerging technical opportunities. Visible laser      diodes, the Navicube, low pressure pneumatics, direct toner.      printed circuits, radial arm waterknives, dildonics, mag refrigeration.

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Tech Musings #105 Muse105.PDF (october 1996)      H-P 5SiMx laser printer hard drive interface, new video and audio      chips, navigation resources update, understanding digital filters,      triple tri-sample building blocks, linear phase techniques

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Tech Musings #104 Muse104.PDF (september 1996)      A new compass sensor; updated UFO directory;      more magnetometer info; "protecting" your designs;      vacuum forming resources.

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Tech Musings #103 Muse103.PDF (august 1996)      New fluxgate sensors and chips, earth field magnetometry,      Post-it note opportunities, introduction to vectors, measuring      web site popularity, greeting card sound chips.

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Tech Musings #92 Muse92.PDF (september 1995)      GPS Navigation update; picking a microprocessor, microcontroller,      or digital signal processor; new internet directories, understanding      pitot tubes, more on the mystery TeraHertz band.

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Tech Musings #90 Muse90.PDF (july 1995)      Fourier Series analysis, alternatives to plated through holes,      classic computer resources, a $200 GPS receiver, Newtek's      new video toaster for Windows.

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Papers & Confrences from the Institute of Navigation      Leading scholarly resource for all things navigation publishes      spapers and puts on meetings and seminars.

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Trade Journal GPS World      Free resource addresses the Global Positioning Satellite      resources and applications .

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A second trade journal InsideGNSS      Free resource addresses GPS resources plus Galileo, European      Glonass and other compass manufacturers and apps..

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Micro Electronics Machining MEMS Clearinghouse        Accellerometers and gyros are often based on nanotechnology.      This is an extremely useful source of links and tutorials.

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sites still to be added here

Accellerometer manufacturer Analog Devicess      Ideal for durable and fundational parts. Capable of producing      snap fits and living hinges. Material choices include several      nylon variations and flexible polymers.

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U-Print FDM Machine from Dimension Printing     Turn your product designs into real-life molds quickly,     easily, and affordably with their $15,000 machine. Usually     works with ABS plastics Personal 3D printing.

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LOM systems from Cubic Technologies      Offers the Solidimension SD300 printer based on the.      older Helisys technology. Well suited for building up      prototypes, models, and molds.

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LOM systems from TU Delft      Use of precut large foam blocks offers some interesting new      alterntives to very large models .Blocks are much thicker than      other RP systems. Final object size can be arbitrarily huge.

Rapid Prototyping Systems from  SolidScape      Manufacturers of the T66 and Modelmaker inkjet based      machines and companion PatternMaster software. The      T66 is under $50K and truly desktop.

Full Color RP Systems from Z Corp      Uses the inkjet-hardens-powder method in their Z310,      Z406, and Z810 systems. Materials are typically starch or      plaster based. A related Z-Cast system makes metal parts.

Full Color RP Systems from PolyJet      A wide variety of inkjet RP systems from ObJet. Includes their      Connectex, Eden, and Alaris families Also offers a trade in        program for older RP systems.

Web information center from  Desktop CNC      Survey site and link farm covers smaller milling machines,      lathes, routers and others. Special areas for newsgroup      postings, educational market systems, bunches more.

Small Milling Machines from Minitech CNCC      Offers the Mini-Mill/Pro smaller CNC system that is claimed      to be one of the most accurate desktop machines in the world.      Also has even more precise scientific versions.

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Batteries:

Battery Applications & Advances ( Radhe Das )> Battery Reference Book ( Thomas Crompton ) Battery Technology Handbook  ( H.A. Kiehne ) Electric Vehicle Battery Systems ( Sandeep Dhameja ) Electrochemical Cell Design ( Ralph White ) Electrochemical Power Sources ( M. Barak ) Electrochemical Supercapacitors  ( B. E. Conway ) Electrochemistry of Novel Materials ( Jacek Lipkowski ) Handbook of Batteries ( David Linden ) Handbook of Battery Materials ( Jurgen Besenhard ) Hydrogen Metal Hydride Batteries ( P. D. Bennett ) Lithium-Ion Batteries ( Masataka Wakihara ) Lithium Polymer Batteries ( J. Broadhead ) Modern Batteries: Intro to Electrochemical... ( C. Vincent ) Practical Photovoltaics ( Richard J. Komp ) RVer's Guide to Solar Battery Charging ( Noel Kirkby ) Sealed Battery Selection ( Michael Meurer ) 2000 Battery Industry Directory  ( Webcom )

Fluxgates:

Earth Magnetism : A Guided Tour  ( Wallace H. Campbell ) Geomagnetic Micropulsations  ( J.A. Jacobs ) Geomagnetic Observatory and Survey Practice  ( W.F. Stuart ) Geomagnetic Pulsations  ( D. Orr ) Giant Magnetoresistance : Technology and Markets for ...  ( P. Savage ) Hall Effect Sensors : Theory and Application  ( Ed Ramsden ) Introduction to Geomagnetic Fields  ( Wallace H. Campbell ) Introduction to Magnetism and Magnetic Materials  ( David Jilesl ) The Magnetic Field of the Earth's Lithosphere  ( R. A. Langel ) Magnetic Multilayers and Giant Magnetoresistance  ( Uwe Hartmann ) Magnetic Sensors and Magnetometers  ( Pavel Ripka ) Modern Magnetic Materials : Principles & Applications  ( R. O'Handley ) Remote Sensing of the Environment:  ( John R. Jensen )

GPS Navigation:

Aviator's Guide to GPS... (Bill Clarke) Comprehensive Guide to GPS Land Navigation... (N. Hotchkiss) GPS for Everyone : How the Global Positioning... (Larijani) GPS for Geodesy (Peter J. G. Teunissen) GPS for Land Surveyors (Jan Van Sickle) GPS for VFR (Bruce Grubbs) GPS Instant Navigation : A Practical... (Kevin Monahan) GPS Land Navigation; A Complete Guidebook... (M. Ferguson) GPS Made Easy : Using Global Positioning ... (Lawrence Letham) GPS Satellite Surveying (Alfred Leick ) Sherlock Holmes Guide to GPS. ( Jerry Huang ) Simple GPS Navigation; Sea, Air, Land... (Mik Chinery ) Understanding GPS : Principles and Applications (Elliott D. Kaplan) Using GPS (Conrad Dixon) Using GPS : Finding Your Way With the... (Bruce Grubbs) Wilderness Navigation : Finding Your Way... ( Bob Burns) Yachtsman's GPS Handbook... (Colin Jones)

Piezoelectric:

Electromagnetoelasticity ( V.Z. Parton ) Electromagnetoelasticity of Piezoelectronics ( V. Z. Parton ) Fracture Mechanics of Piezoelectric Materials ( Qing-Hua Qin ) Fundamentals of Piezoelectricity ( Takuro Ikeda ) Materials for Smart Systems ( Marilyn Wun-Fogle ) Medical Applications of Piezoelectric Polymers (K. Schengil-Roberts) Piezoelectric Materials ( Carmen Galassi ) Piezolectric Actuators and Ultrasonic Motors ( Kenji Uchino ) Piezoelectric Ceramics (K. Schengil-Roberts) Piezoelectric Ceramics ( Bernard Jaffe ) Piezoelectric Resonators and their Applications ( Jiri Zelenka ) Piezoelectricity ( Carol Zwick Rosen ) Piezoelectricity  ( R. Smithe ) Smart Materials ( K.H. Hoffmann ) Theory of Piezoelectric Shells and Plates ( R. Smithe )

Radio Astronomy:

Boffin: A Personal Story of the Early Days of Rad...  ( Brown ) Extragalactic Radio Sources: From Beams...  ( J. Roland ) High Sensitivity Radio Astronomy   ( N.Jackson ) History of Radio Astronomy. ( Benjamin K. Malphrus ) Interferometry and Synthesis in Radio Astronomy ( Ralph Spencer ) Introduction to Radio Astronomy  ( Bernard F. Burke ) Invisible Universe Revealed : The Story... ( Gerrit Verschuur ) Radio Astronomy ( John D. Kraus) Radio Astronomy (Above and Beyond)  ( Adele D. Richardson ) Radio Astronomy Projects  ( William P. Lonc ) Radioscience Observing ( Joseph J. Carr ) Science With Large Millimetre Arrays : Proc.. ( Eso Iram ) Submillimetre Wave Astronomy  ( John E. Beckman ) Tools of Radio Astronomy ( K. Rohlfs ) Variability of Active Galactic Nuclei  ( H. Richard Miller) Very Long Baseline Interferometry : Tech... ( Ralph Spencer )

RFID:

Electronic tracking of animals ( R. Geers ) Guide to Understanding and using RFID ( Joanne Lerose ) Positive Loss Prevention ( Bob Tilley ) Retailer's Guide to Loss Prevention and Security ( D. Horan ) RFID and Contactless Smart Cards ( Dominick Paret ) RFID Handbook  ( Klaus Finkenzeller ) Smart Card Handbook ( W. Rankll ) Smart Card Handbook ( L. Robert Tolley ) Smart Cards: Seizing Strategic Business Opportunities (C. Allen) Smart Card Security and Applications ( Mike Hendry )

Usenet newsgroups seem a little lean when it comes to navigation
resources. Here are a few possibilities...

sci.physics sci.electronics.design sci.math sci.geo.satellite.nav alt.satellite.gps

    Other Guru's Lair library pages of interest include Tech
    Musings, Hardware Hacker, Blatant Opportunist, Don's
    Resource Bin, Math Stuff, PostScript, GuruGrams, Ask
    the Guru, and Flutterwumper resources.

Ask Don a Navicube Question.  Explore an Energy Efficient Solutionn.  Find Instant Research Answers.

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