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Guy builds AI driven hardware hacker arm from duct tape, old cam and CNC machine

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Why This Matters

The AutoProber project exemplifies how DIY hardware hacking combined with AI automation can revolutionize the precision and safety of probing electronic components. Its open-source approach empowers both enthusiasts and industry professionals to develop customizable, cost-effective testing solutions, potentially accelerating innovation in hardware diagnostics and repair. This development underscores the growing importance of accessible automation tools in advancing hardware testing and repair workflows.

Key Takeaways

AutoProber

AutoProber is the hardware hacker's flying probe automation stack for giving your agent everything it needs to go from "there's a new target on the plate" to probing individual pins in a safe way.

Demo video: https://gainsec.com/autoprober-demo-mp4/

Flow

Tell the agent to ingest the project. Connect all the hardware. Tell the agent to confirm that all parts are functioning.

Have it run homing and then calibration. Attach the custom probe and microscope header. Tell the agent that there is a new target on the plate. It will find where the target is on the plate, then take individual frames, keeping a record of the XYZ while noting pads, pins, chips, and other interesting features.

It will stitch the frames together and annotate the map, including pins and interesting components it identified.

It will add probe targets to the web dashboard for you to approve or deny.

It will probe the approved targets and report back.

All hardware can be controlled through the web dashboard, Python scripts, or by the agent itself.

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