It's been really cool to see people creating hardware without worrying about the usual limitations of soldering or 3d printing. Some have more technical ability than others and have salvaged screens or other bits from random electronics.
It feels like a rediscovery of hacker ethos without the slightly toxic baggage of maker culture.
They actually have a purpose, if you're in a role where you need to interface with a lot electro-mechanical stuff of varying vintage though. Basically ends up being a pelican case with a fat battery, a small network with short patch cables for reconfiguration on the go, two SBCs running windows IOT and linux, a PLC + 2/3 I/O cards, a CAN adapter and some space for 6 inches of terminal block on a DIN rail. Then a keyboard + monitor.
Maybe not as sexy as some people make but it is a cyberdeck/briefcase lab and it will allow you probe most distressed machines without having to waste time running around for supplies or back and forth to offices.
The way many manufacturers are structured however, there is too much red-tape and osha for this to be a reality for a lot of people, at least in the usa. It does exist in some places though.
xnx•1h ago
free-nachos•55m ago
ErroneousBosh•34m ago