Uploaded November 2025 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Environmentally sealed rotary position sensors, especially off-axis ones, are expensive and require careful mounting. This talk explores using PCBs and the capacitative sensing hardware on modern microcontrollers to make cheap and rugged custom position sensors for applications including robot sailboats and articulated badge add-ons.
*About the Speaker*
Pierce Nichols is an engineer based in Seattle who makes robot boat stuff and other fun electronics.
*About Teardown*
Teardown is a yearly event hosted by Crowd Supply that draws hackers, makers, and engineers from across the US (and the world) to meet together in Portland, Oregon. Teardown is about the practice of hardware: prototyping, manufacturing, testing, disassembling, and circumventing, all while having fun. Teardown attendees can expect lively talks, demos, art installations, hands-on workshops, fiendish puzzles, and lots of good food. Check it out! crowdsupply.com/teardown
*About Crowd Supply*
Crowd Supply is the crowdfunding platform of choice for engineers, hackers, designers, and idealists. We help them with the funding and support they need to deliver respectful, thoughtfully crafted, open source hardware to their delighted backers. Come see what our creators are making: https://www.crowdsupply.com!
YouTube: youtube.com/@crowd_supply
Instagram: instagram.com/crowdsupply
Discord: discord.com/invite/7p5huQ
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/crowdsupply
Mastodon: hachyderm.io/@crowdsupply
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/crowdsupply.bsky.social
#opensourcehardware #hardwarehacking #opensource #hardware #teardown #maker #hacker #electronics #crowdsupply #crowdfunding #manufacturing #capacitive #sensors #microcontroller #robotics #robot #robotbuilding
Environmentally sealed rotary position sensors, especially off-axis ones, are expensive and require careful mounting. This talk explores using PCBs and the capacitative sensing hardware on modern microcontrollers to make cheap and rugged custom position sensors for applications including robot sailboats and articulated badge add-ons.
*About the Speaker*
Pierce Nichols is an engineer based in Seattle who makes robot boat stuff and other fun electronics.
*About Teardown*
Teardown is a yearly event hosted by Crowd Supply that draws hackers, makers, and engineers from across the US (and the world) to meet together in Portland, Oregon. Teardown is about the practice of hardware: prototyping, manufacturing, testing, disassembling, and circumventing, all while having fun. Teardown attendees can expect lively talks, demos, art installations, hands-on workshops, fiendish puzzles, and lots of good food. Check it out! crowdsupply.com/teardown
*About Crowd Supply*
Crowd Supply is the crowdfunding platform of choice for engineers, hackers, designers, and idealists. We help them with the funding and support they need to deliver respectful, thoughtfully crafted, open source hardware to their delighted backers. Come see what our creators are making: https://www.crowdsupply.com!
YouTube: youtube.com/@crowd_supply
Instagram: instagram.com/crowdsupply
Discord: discord.com/invite/7p5huQ
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/crowdsupply
Mastodon: hachyderm.io/@crowdsupply
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/crowdsupply.bsky.social
#opensourcehardware #hardwarehacking #opensource #hardware #teardown #maker #hacker #electronics #crowdsupply #crowdfunding #manufacturing #capacitive #sensors #microcontroller #robotics #robot #robotbuilding
