The decision to install a rooftop PV system at our house wasn’t an easy one. Bulgaria, has one of the lowest regulated electricity prices in the EU for household consumers, with two fixed tariffs (high day/low night). The low electricity…

I'm no master woodworker. But I do make robotic woodworking tools, so naturally I spend lots of time putting those tools to the test in the wood shop!

In my role as Shaper's Principal Electrical Engineer, I've worked with Altium and Macrofab to help alpha/beta test Altium's new design-to-manufacturing flow powered by Macrofab.

Try out the latest version of my Raspberry Pi Remote Wake/Sleep-on-LAN Server software. Now with signed encryption and dynamic DNS auto-setup!

In this longform interview that I recorded with Altium about a year ago, I share some of my thoughts on accessibility, holistic engineering, and developing products with a collaborative mindset.

The 2020 AltiumLive annual PCB Design conference may have been virtual, thanks to COVID-19, but that didn't stop me from participating and giving a keynote focused on supply chain management for engineers.

Stuck indoors during the pandemic, I needed a creative outlet and a way to get exercise, so I built an open source stationary bike trainer with real-time web monitoring and controls. Continue reading →

PS Thermo is a control hub I developed for proSmart, it is designed to control/act as a gateway for various sub-GHz RF wireless sensors/actuators. In essence, it is a much more advanced version of the BBoilRF thermostat project. The PS…

I'm thrilled to announce that the second edition of Exploring Arduino, my popular book, is now available! Learn more at ExploringArduino.com. Continue reading →

I wrote a book, Exploring Arduino (now on it's second edition), to teach readers concepts in electrical engineering, computer science, and human-computer interaction using the Arduino microcontroller platform.

Last year, I spoke about empathetic engineering at Altium's annual PCB design conference. This year, they invited me back to take that topic a step further. In my 2019 AltiumLive keynote, I discuss what holistic product design means for electrical...

It was roughly a year ago when I decided to spinoff the embedded software/hardware R&D activities I was heading at proSmart to a separate entity. This is how Embeddica was created, a team of highly skilled embedded software/hardware development professionals…

I recently spoke with a friend of mine, who is now a software development team manager in a Fortune 500 listed company. He shared with me that his managed teams work using agile methodologies and consist only of software developers.…

While delivering on the promise of streamlined efficiencies and operational insights, smart IoT devices also present a new and more widespread threat to users and personal data. No one really needs reminding of the security implications of IoT. Think of…

My front gate has joined the Internet of Things and is now controllable from my phone. The sliding door opener is a Beninca BULL 5M. The project is DIY, based on ESP8266 + MQTT and I can now open/close/read the…

Modern HMIs are built as graphical user interfaces (GUI) with touch-based user interaction. Complex HMI development is always challenging because of the dynamic nature of the required behavior, underlying functions, and graphical design. Building a PoC prototype through code is time-consuming,…

I decided to test a 3.5″ TFT version of the TFT32 project as the original version’s 2.4″ 320×240 TFT is a bit small-ish. The TFT I chose is an ILI9488 480×320 3.5″ with resistive touch. The upgrade was pretty straightforward,...

As an IT team manager, I am responsible for forming highly engaged and efficient teams. Building an agile team requires a fine balance of skilled and motivated people, fine-tuned processes and proper tool selection.Put too much focus on people and...

I did a tech talk about the TFT32 project on Feb 5th 2019, here is my presentation, if interested. Some photos from the event: Page views: 8

Performing OTA firmware update over a slow/unreliable connection may be challenging. I have had many cases, where the nodes to be updated are in a remote rural area with a 2G modem internet connection, and pushing a 1.1MB firmware file...

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Accurate time/date information is crucial for the correct operation of IoT nodes. From a security perspective, time/date information is necessary to perform SSL certificate validations. If your embedded device’s clock isn’t accurate, you can’t ensure the presented server certificate hasn’t...

I am working on a thermostat control project using the TFT32 hardware, let me share a video of the Wi-Fi configuration GUI (still work in progress). The Wi-Fi provisioning via GUI addresses one of the significant challenges when setting up...

Those of you that follow me on Twitter might already know that I’ve been working on an ESP32 based IoT control hub/gateway project with touch TFT lately. Let me describe what problems I am trying to address with this project....

I recently had the privilege of delivering one of the keynote talks at AltiumLive 2018, an annual conference for circuit board designers. In my talk, I used Shaper (where I currently work) as a case study of how design thinking...

We have a 4.88m x 2.74m x 1.22m (13m³) Bestway swimming pool in the backyard. We only use the pool when the pool water temperature is > 25°C, but it only happens if there are intensive sunshine and high ambient...

I recently spent the day at iFixit HQ, where we tore apart Shaper Origin - the handheld CNC that I helped design. Check out the video to see what makes this thing tick! Continue reading →

Artificial Intelligence is quickly becoming an important ingredient for IoT projects’ success, a requirement for unlocking its full potential and providing a competitive edge to those that embrace it. AI naturally integrates into existing connected sensor/actuator networks and immediately adds...

I will be doing a tech talk on topic “Hardware and firmware considerations when designing low power battery operated wireless edge nodes for Internet of Things applications” at an event organized by DEV.BG. Join me on April 18th, starting 19:15...

I had a chat with a colleague the other day, discussing his property purchasing plans. He shared that the proximity to workplace is important for him. Planning in the long term, he asked me what districts of Sofia would be...