Projects
From Makespace
Note: This page is not maintained and is probably of only historical interest.
Below are a list of projects; some completed, some dead and some only twinkles in our eyes. Please add your project to the list (only good things come from sharing). If you have an idea for a project but are not sure how to get started then posting here or on the Google group is a great way to find helpful people.
Communal projects
Workbenches- we need a horizontal surface to make things on, and people are keen to start making the makespace by building benches. See some suggestions for DIY workbench designs.
Automated storage/retrieval- a long-term crazy idea to build some sort of storage robot in the half-height storage area under the kitchen which will retrieve a member's storage box when they swipe their RFID tag. If you have a fleshed-out idea for how it ought to work, write up your proposal and link it from this page.
Restoration / Fiddling with 'ancient' computers - a page to document the current status and work required on the old machines we have been gifted.
Project Speed Dating
Quarterly we run 'Project Speed Dating' nights. Here's a list of the projects at ProjectSpeedDating2
Here we will add our projects
| Project name | Status | People | Tell me more about it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Roll and jump music generator | Planned | Dadabit | This is a wearable with gyro and accelerometer. I will connect to ableton and/or maxmsp. So in initial phase. Also if there is anyone who did mapping, desperately in need to learn. |
| Mechanical computing | Working but unreliable | JimM | Turing machines and other computers built without any electric components using ball bearings as memory. https://github.com/jmacarthur/millihertz |
| FleetFoot | Planned | Brice | clojurescript + processing.js + webgl = Awesome! |
| Magicsphere | Development | Brice | Secret Volumetric POV project |
| Lispator | Concept | Brice | Complete Lisp machine implemented in FPGA. |
| MetaWatch automation | Concept / Improvements | Rich M | Expanding the MetaWatch software for more "Internet of Things" integration - watch notifications when the doorbell rings, Turn lights on from your wrist, that sort of thing! |
| shapeshifting fabric | design/development | Dadabit | well I got some sma wire, currently able to drive it, Now trying to make the machanical to actually end up in some coordinated movements. I need 3D modeling may be. Ping me if yo can help me with 3d modeling with the movement. I will thank you forever. (how long is forever can be negotiated) |
| Solr Logr | Development/Refinement | Chris Elsmore | Data logger, display and controller for my off-grid solar installation, and investigation into other alternative energy sources like building wind turbines. |
| Vehicle tracker / remote command receiver | Progressing slowly | JCGS | I have started to build a vehicle tracker based on the GM862 GPS/GSM/GPRS module. |
| ASR33 (Teletype) restoration | Waiting | JCGS | I have an old ASR33 that I plan to restore sometime. Some mechanical work is needed, including fabricating missing parts; also tracing and testing the circuitry, and interfacing it to a modern computer. |
| Vehicle motor controller | Thinking about it | JCGS | Once I've finished stretching my Land Rover to three axles, I'll start working on making the third axle electrically driven, with regenerative braking. I plan to make the controller myself, with big IGBTs and probably an mbed to control them. |
| Makespace OpenGL Visualisation | Planned | Wojciech | A quick 3D mock up of procedurally generated Makespace. |
| Visventis (kites for wind energy) | In process | Robert Copcutt | Poor people need electricity to learn to lift themselves out of poverty. A cheap way to generate electricity is therefore required. At visventis.org[1] we believe that kites are 1 way to do that. A device to support a flying kite has already been built. We now need to add reels for the tethers, a generator and electronics to control that generator. This could be the start of something big and all help is appreciated. |
| Motor/generator | Advanced concept | Robert Copcutt | Small electric motors can be made over 98% efficient, and cheap, by following a few fundamental principles. Keep the air-gap speed high by using a large diameter. Eliminate the iron core and use just air. Use fine wire for the coils to keep eddy current losses down. Such machines would be ideal for many projects including Visventis and electric vehicles. Tools such as good laser cutters and CNC mills are important for making some of the parts. Let's talk. |
| Gauss meter | Concept | Robert Copcutt | This should be a quick project to aid the motor/generator project above. Gauss meters are expensive but the sensors are not. Anyone interested to help build a simple meter to measure magnetic fields? |
| LED strip lights | Concept | Robert Copcutt | LED lights have numerous advantages except for cost. I am interested to make replacements for fluorescent tubes, but buying LEDs in the quantity to build 1 is not economical. If I design one it makes sense to share the learning and build 20. As soon as we have sufficient interest the LEDs can be ordered and construction can begin. |
| Home power monitoring | In process | Simon Stirley | Monitoring of home mains power usage by current clamp. The clamp circuit is wired to an Arduino which monitors the current and totals up energy usage. Data is sent to a remote server via an ethernet shield every five minutes (live data)
The system also monitors PV generation and temperature. Future plans include adding logging to an SD card for finer analysis, integration with home-automation system. |
| Big-Mod-Trak | In process | Simon Stirley | After a 'new' BigTrak failed with not enough power, the circuits were ripped out and an Arduino with motor shield replaced. It currently has a very simple drive via either a Wii Nunchuk or an automatic mode using a distance sensor for very simple collision avoidance.
More plans include using a wireless Nunchuk, more sensors, and implementing some kind of programming mode. And a rocker launcher - of course. |
| Coat rack | Complete | Steve Upton | When we opened the space we needed somewhere to hang our coats and I thought it would better to make than buy. More details on my blog here: coat rack |
| OfficeHAL | In process | Steve Upton | A Raspberri Pi based controller for my garden office (it is NOT a shed). My intention is to provide monitoring and control of the office environment via the web and physical controls on the device. As the rest of my office is styled on a steampunk theme OfficeHAL will be too. He currently has a wooden frame, brass porthole for an 'eye', and I'm working on a mechanical iris.
Features will include:
|
| Paint Robot | Concept | Christie Nel | A robot for painting roofs with glow in the dark paint. |
| usb Stenography | Proof of concept | Tony Percy | A usb keypad comprised of 7 touch sensitive buttons, with piezoelectric haptic feedback, for use in development in a form of mnemonic stenography. |
| 1D Pong | Prototyping | Danny Garden | A 1D Pong Game. More details on my blog here: 1D Pong |
| Open Source Labware | Prototyping/design stage | Tobey Wenzel | Design and prototyping of open source labware. Funded by the University of Cambridge Synthetic Biology SRI.
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