GoKawiil
Tech News
A DIY enthusiast connected three existing security camera microphones to BirdNet-Go, an open-source, locally-run AI tool, to automatically identify bird species by song in real time. The system also picks up bats and frogs, runs entirely on local hardware without cloud services, and can send custom alerts—such as via Discord—when specific species are detected.
Japanese researcher @dydt_Nao successfully demonstrated a dinner-plate-sized USB flash drive built from magnetic core memory, transferring both a text file and a small monochrome bitmap image between two PCs. The device, which uses a Raspberry Pi Pico as its controller, stores only 128 bytes of data and displays activity through a 32x32 LED array that lights up as each magnetic core is accessed. The creator plans to showcase the device at Maker Faire Tokyo 2026 in early September.
A build guide for retro arcade cabinets advises starting not with hardware choices like the Raspberry Pi, but with deciding which games you want to play, since that determines control layout needs. It recommends mocking up control panels on cardboard before cutting wood, and outlines three paths for the cabinet body itself: building from plywood or MDF, buying a flat-pack kit, or repurposing an existing cabinet.
A maker documented building the Scanwheel, a small electromechanical television using a spinning 3D-printed drum instead of a traditional Nipkow disk, achieving an unusual 4,096-by-20-pixel widescreen resolution. The device is driven by a Raspberry Pi Pico controlling a motor driver board and LEDs mounted so the drum's perforations sweep past them to trace scan lines, recreating the persistence-of-vision effect pioneered by John Logie Baird in the 1920s.
Raspberry Pi has released an official step-by-step guide showing hobbyists how to build a cyberdeck—a custom, purpose-built computing device—using its own hardware. The reference build uses a Raspberry Pi 5, a 128GB Raspberry Pi Flash Drive, a 7-inch Raspberry Pi Touch Display 2, a Rii RK302 Bluetooth keyboard, and a Pelican-style case, with a power bank recommended over batteries for simpler wiring.
A hobbyist built CarWatch, a system that puts a Raspberry Pi 5 in a car running a 35-billion-parameter Qwen model locally, no internet or subscription required. It joins chat rooms as an AI agent, sending trip summaries, dashcam clips, and answers sourced from the car's 745-page owner's manual, and also supports hands-free voice queries via on-device speech recognition.
Raspberry Pi has released an official tutorial for building a cyberdeck, a homemade portable computer typically housed in repurposed cases like Pelican boxes or purses. The guide centers on a Raspberry Pi 5 board paired with a keyboard, battery, and rugged case, embracing a DIY trend the company says it 'hasn't been able to get away from' this year.
Raspberry Pi has released an official tutorial for building a cyberdeck, a compact portable computer often housed in repurposed containers like cases, purses, or jewelry boxes. The guide uses a Raspberry Pi 5 board, a Raspberry Pi flash drive, and a LiPo battery tucked beneath a Bluetooth keyboard, all fitted into a simple Pelican-style case.
Developers have ported AROS, the open-source Amiga Research Operating System, to run directly on Raspberry Pi hardware without virtualization, in both 32-bit and 64-bit versions. Previously, running AROS on a Pi required emulating it inside Linux; now it boots bare-metal, targeting the Pi3 with discussions underway for Pi4 and Zero2W support.