Working notes &
field dispatches
Essays on edge AI, embedded Linux, and the teaching of both. Published when experiments settle and the bench is clean.
AI
From Schematic to Pin Map: Driving PdfCraft, PhotoCraft and VectorCraft from Claude Code over MCP
Three open-source ArtCraft desktop apps expose MCP servers, which lets Claude Code read a schematic PDF, draw a vector pin map from a Zephyr overlay, annotate a board photo and assemble a lab handout. This is a step-by-step guide to the setup and a record of documenting the nRF52840.
Derek Molloy
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Nov 11, 2026
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42 min read
Teaching
MECE module planner (Jan 2027 Entry)
A holding post with an interactive module selection tool for MECE students entering DCU Engineering in January 2027. Please contact Richard Bolger directly if
Derek Molloy
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Nov 11, 2026
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16 min read
Beginners
MCTY module planner (Jan 2027 entry)
If you start MCTY in January 2027, the programme runs over 20 months. In January you register for your three Semester 2 modules only. You register for the rest of the programme in September 2027: three Semester 1 modules, two Semester 2 modules, EEN1101 and EEN1095.
Derek Molloy
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Nov 03, 2026
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14 min read
Teaching
The MCTY Programme (DC877) at Dublin City University
In this webinar I introduce our one-year MSc in Electronic and Computer Technology
Derek Molloy
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Oct 31, 2026
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1 min read
AI
PID on a Microcontroller: Making Timing Visible in a 3D Game
A follow-on to PID Flight School. The drone's roll loop runs on a simulated Cortex-M under Zephyr, so students can see what loop rate, fixed-point maths, sensor resolution and thread priorities do to a controller.
Derek Molloy
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Oct 27, 2026
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2 min read
AI
Giving Claude Code a Logic Analyser: A Minimal Bench Harness for Zephyr on the nRF52840
An AI coding agent can write, build and flash firmware, but it cannot see the LED. This article builds a small Claude Code harness for Zephyr on the nRF52840 DK that closes the loop with real measurements from an Analog Discovery, and shows what it caught that reading the code never would.
Derek Molloy
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Oct 26, 2026
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45 min read
AI
PID Flight School, Studio Edition: One Lesson, Two Looks
The second visual style of my PID Flight School game. Once the lesson is fixed in code, changing how it looks is cheap, but a more ambitious look has costs that you need to test for.
Derek Molloy
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Oct 25, 2026
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2 min read
AI
PID Flight School: Teaching a Control Loop as a 3D Game
I turned the PID demonstration from my Connected Embedded book into an eight-mission 3D game with Claude Code. This short post is about what that means for teaching.
Derek Molloy
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Oct 25, 2026
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3 min read
Beginners
MECE Module Selection (Sep 2026 Entry)
An interactive selection tool for students beginning MECE in September 2026
Derek Molloy
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Sep 01, 2026
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5 min read
Beginners
MCTY Module Selection (Sep 2026 Entry)
An interactive selection tool for students beginning MCTY in September 2026
Derek Molloy
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Sep 01, 2026
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4 min read
Zephyr
Zephyr from Zero on the ST Nucleo-F401RE: Watching the Scheduler Work
A complete beginner's path onto the Zephyr RTOS using the low-cost ST Nucleo-F401RE, from installing the toolchain to a four-thread demo whose scheduling you can watch on a logic analyser.
Derek Molloy
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Aug 31, 2026
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62 min read
Arduino
A Radar Scope on the Arduino UNO Q: Multi-Target Tracking with the Ai-Thinker RD-03D mmWave Sensor
UNO Q with a 24 GHz radar wired to the board to build a live radar scope - the MCU turns a binary sensor stream into three tracked targets, and the Linux side draws them sweeping across a web dashboard. Along the way, a proper look at how FMCW radar works, all showing the strength of mmWave radar.
Derek Molloy
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Aug 10, 2026
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73 min read