Geekcamp SG

Last year, in a fit of wild enthusiasm I offered to talk at Geekcamp SG. The talk was to be called "Hardware is NOT boring" and would show racing cars being controlled by a mobile phone and an Arduino. Sometimes this is the only way that I can kick myself into doing something for fun.

The thing is, you only get to talk if enough masochists vote for you. They did.

With the deadline looming, I stayed up late in my favorite JB coffee shops working on the code, built hardware by day - and worked out a backup plan (trains) in case the cars didn't want to run properly.

I had to be in North Johor the day before the event till late - when all was done I jumped on the Harley and rode like the devil down Highway 1 to Singapore. Gotta love night rides on un-illuminated Malaysian roads. Reached Singapore at 4, stayed up till about 6.30, grabbed a couple of hours sleep and made it to GeekCamp just in time.

Being a bit dazed, I was not really awake enough to pay attention to Subh's talk so I started hacking a mouse controlled by a 3D accelerometer and an Arduino Leonardo - which also made it into the talk. Went home, out like a light - but up early next day for Hari Raya.

So seriously, am I stupid enough to do it again? Not a chance. This year I have a partner in crime : Adnan Jalaludin, the designer, maker and seller of the Raspy Juice - an add on board for the PI which features a buck regulator, real time clock and an AtMEGA processor for servo control.

So, this year it is all about Raspberry Pi, Servos, DC motors, webcams and anything else we can get our hands on. We will be drawing on Adnan's encyclopedic knowledge of Linux, Hardware and other stuff and seeing what we come up with.

I, for one, am quite looking forward to seeing it.

And there will be circuits you can build.
There will be software to download and try.
There may be flying things if I can bend enough ARMs....

Oh yeah. When things don't work, there will also be some really bad jokes.

Geekcamp SG.
7th September 2013,
Microsoft Singapore.

Thursday 31st Arduino Intermediate class - coming?

Since Curica seems to be down - and I am not keen to use any of the sites that want you to pre-pay - may discourage you from committing (in case you need o drop out) / coming at the last minute, and I don't want to side step their payment mechanisms - I am resorting to asking you to simply drop a comment here to indicate if you are coming.

Details: 

This session we will cover

1. Use of Serial port for 
       Output
       Debugging
       Input (interaction)
2. Interrupts
3. Timers
4. Seven Segment LED
5. Servo Motors

Venue: Hackerspace SG, 70 A Bussorah St, Singapore 199483

Date / Time: Thursday 31st Jan, 7.00 p.m. - 9.00 p.m.

Cost: $45.00 if you have change - otherwise $50.00

Basic class - Friday 25th Jan - Coming?

Since Curica seems to be down, I am not terribly keen to use any of the online booking systems that make you pay in advance because I understand that things come up at the last minute and so you may not be able to make it - and likewise you may want to come along at the last minute....

So - if you are coming - please leave a comment here

Details:

By popular demand we are yet again offering yet another reprise of our introductory hands on course that will teach you how to build cool things with the Arduino - the open source micro controller platform that has changed the world by making micro controllers accessible to hobbyists at a really affordable price. You will learn how to use the Arduino in your hobby projects. Control LEDs, Buzzers etc, detect the state of buttons & sensors. Some simple programming and electronics will be taught (emphasis on simple) but you will get results very quickly. Hackerspace are making their Arduino kits available for the class so all you need to do is to bring along your notebook. Beginners class. (repeated by popular demand) You will need to bring your own laptop.

Venue:   Hackerspace SG, 70A Bussorah St, singapore 199483

Date / Time: Friday 25th Jan, 7.00 p.m. - 10.00 p.m.

Cost: S$ 45 if you have change, otherwise $50 ;-)

2013 - Happy New Year -
(Taking "arang batu" to Istana Bahru)

IOBLOCKS is starting 2013 from Istana Bahru - a new home in Johor Bahru right next to one of the Sultan's palaces. The place is quite a mess having combined the old office with heaps of personal possessions.

We have been here since October 2012 but the insanity of teaching schedules of my Image Processing classes at DigiPen meant that those few remaining free minutes were used looking after clients rather than creating some kind of order.

Our Android Apps for Cytech Technologies' Comfort home control system are now available on Google Play. They have been pretty well received. Now it is time for the iPad version.

January 2013 will see two Arduino classes at Hackerspace SG - a basic class on the 25th (Friday) and an intermediate on the 31st (Thursday).

The Intermediate session will feature Serial ports, debugging, 7 segment LED, Servos, interrupts and timers.

Finally - received an excellent testimonial from a client even though we didn't get the job...
"In the short time that I spent with you, it impressed upon me that you had machine vision knowledge that was far better than the other vendors. I'm lining-up a few more Vision Inspection projects and will be contacting you soon."