May always sneaks up on me, and with event season in full swing things have been busy. Between builds, travel, and today’s livestream, I’m just about getting this newsletter out in time — but there’s plenty to share!
🚀 New Releases
May turned out to be a huge month for hobby robotics and embedded tech.
ROS 2 LTS: Lyrical Luth
We’ve just had the new two‑yearly ROS 2 LTS release: Lyrical Luth. I haven’t jumped in yet — I like to give Micro‑ROS and a few other key packages time to finish their ports and testing — but I’ll be exploring it properly over the summer.
Ubuntu 26.04: Resolute Raccoon
Alongside ROS comes the new Ubuntu release, 26.04 Resolute Raccoon. Ubuntu is the only Linux distro I run these days, powering all my Raspberry Pis and robots. I’ll be migrating gradually over the next few months.
A Surprise from Raspberry Pi: A Podcast!
Raspberry Pi quietly dropped a brand‑new podcast — and instead of talking Pi 5 or the AI module, the first episode dives deep into the RP2350 and Pico 2. It’s a genuinely great listen. Highly recommended if you’re into microcontrollers, design decisions, or just Pi‑related nerdery.
🛠 Project Updates
Controlling Relays Properly
Last month I talked about power control for my droids, but the video didn’t go deep enough into relay control. So I made a dedicated breakdown: Raspberry Pi Pico W: Switch High‑Voltage Devices Remotely
Waveshare RP2350 Displays — A Standout Winner
I’ve been reviewing a bunch of Waveshare RP2350 displays lately. They’re good… but I always find something to nitpick.
Except this one: the Waveshare RP2350 AMOLED Touch 1.75.
I could barely fault it.
Stewart Platform Geometry — The Hard Way
For my new droid project, I needed a head that can rotate, roll, and pitch. That led me to a simplified 3‑DoF Stewart Platform. I hoped AI would help me dodge the maths… but in the end I had to learn it properly myself.
The result is very cool:
Meet BπBO — My New Mecanum Droid
That 3‑DoF platform is now part of BπBO, my new mecanum‑wheel droid with a rotating head, camera, and lots more planned. It’s early days, but already a lot of fun.
🧳 Dr Jon EA Travels
Maker Central — 16 May, Birmingham NEC
Maker Central was fantastic. I brought BπBO, shared space with Dan (Dan Makes Things), and met loads of brilliant people. A long trip, but absolutely worth it.
Evolve26 — 26 June, Brighton
Next up: Evolve26, right here at home in Brighton.
I’ll be there with the Breaking Breadboards crew, showing both ReXP1 and BπBO.
Come say hi — I’d love to chat about the builds.
🎟 Half‑price tickets with the code: BREAKINGBREADBOARDS
🧰 Meanwhile on the Desk
Everything on the desk right now is focused on getting ready for Evolve26.
ReXP1 is currently in pieces while I rebuild the internals with new batteries, power control, and a fresh charging system — which means a few case redesigns too.
🔒 YouTube Memberships are now LIVE
Here’s the deal: I don’t drip-feed. I batch-produce and batch-upload. That means every video I’ve made for June is already uploaded and waiting — tutorials, #3min deep-dives, hardware reviews, the lot. Members get it all, right now. Non-members get it on the usual weekly schedule.
If you’ve ever wanted to binge a full month of embedded systems content in one sitting, this is literally that. 👉 Hit the Join button below the channel banner. One tier. One simple perk. Binge the whole month on Day 1.
First batch is June. Already uploaded. Already waiting. Let’s go.
Thank you for supporing the channel and my work here.
I hope to see you at Evolve26 — please stop by and say hello!
