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Five open source hardware projects that could change the world.
by Andrew Back 07 Feb '12

07 Feb '12

Hello, I wrote an article for The H on five open source hardware projects that could change the world. Whilst many will know most of the projects covered, it may be of interest to some. http://www.h-online.com/open/features/Five-open-source-hardware-projects-th… Regards, Andrew

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OSHUG #16 — Manufacturing, Thursday 23rd February 2012.
by Andrew Back 06 Feb '12

06 Feb '12

Hello, Registration is now open for the February meeting and details are below. Also, there is room for a third speaker if anyone would like to propose a manufacturing related talk. Wouldn't need to be too long, and could be on any topic, experiences or challenges etc to do with the manufacturing of open source hardware. If interested drop me a line asap. Regards, Andrew -- OSHUG #16 — Manufacturing (Breadboard to Finished Product, Arduino Shield) On the 23rd February 2012, 18:00 - 20:00 at Centre for Creative Collaboration, 16 Acton Street, London, WC1X 9NG (51.529049, -0.116436) Registration: http://oshug.org/event/16 At the sixteenth OSHUG meeting we will be hearing about first-hand experiences of taking an open source hardware design from being a project to a product. With insights into prototyping, some of the manufacturing options available and the challenges that may be encountered. — From Breadboard to Finished Product You have a cool project, people are sending you emails asking where they could get their hands on one and you find yourself googling "electronics manufacturing"... Should you get yourself a toaster oven and start a miniature production line in your living room or should you just outsource it? What challenges await you if you decide to go down the contract manufacturing route? This talk aims to give the audience an overview of the electronics manufacturing process, using a project recently completed by the speaker as a case study. Omer Kilic is theoretically still a research student at the University of Kent, although he intends to submit his thesis (which is about a reconfigurable heterogeneous computing framework) pretty soon. He likes tiny computers, things that 'just work' and beer. He currently works for Erlang Solutions in London, exploring the use of Erlang programming language in the Embedded Systems domain and develops tools and support material to help the adoption of this technology. — Arduino Shield: From Design to Manufacturing The Arduino CAN-Bus shield gives the Arduino CAN-Bus capability. In this presentation we will learn about the design process from PCB layout and prototyping, to testing with a simulator and eventually testing with a real car. And about the perils of using a simulator, small scale production and outsourcing. Sukkin Pang is a design engineer and a director at SK Pang Electronics Ltd. He graduated from the University of Hertfordshire and has over 20 years of industrial experience. He is passionate about open source hardware and has four Arduino shields published. He used to tinker in assembler on the Z80, 6502, PIC and AVR, but nowadays he mainly uses C and C++. Note: Please aim to arrive for 18:00 - 18:20 as the talks will start at 18:30 prompt. Registration: http://oshug.org/event/16

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Barcamp Canterbury
by Martin Ellis 28 Jan '12

28 Jan '12

Hi guys, Thought you might be interested in an event we are organising. Barcamp Canterbury[0] is an un-conference all about technology. Barcamps[1] are run all around the country for and buy technology enthusiasts, and what's better they are totally free! The event is going to run on weekend of the 28th and 29th of April. thank Martin [0]http://www.barcampcanterbury.com/ [1]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BarCamp

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OSHUG #15 — Wireless (Hacking Commodity Wireless, Practical Wireless, Contiki OS, CWIG) — Thursday 26th January.
by Andrew Back 05 Jan '12

05 Jan '12

Hello, Registration is now open for January's meeting. Regards, Andrew -- Event #15 — Wireless (Hacking Commodity Wireless, Practical Wireless, Contiki OS, CWIG) On the 26th January 2012, 18:00 - 20:00 at Centre for Creative Collaboration, 16 Acton Street, London, WC1X 9NG, (51.529049, -0.116436) ** Registration: http://oshug.org/event/15 ** At the fifteenth OSHUG meeting we'll be taking a look at wireless technologies. We will hear how you can repurpose low cost commodity equipment, we will be given an introduction to RF basics, we will learn about the Contiki operating system, and we will be introduced to Ciseco's new Wireless Internet Gateway. - Hacking Commodity Wireless Many people build their hacks from the ground up, but those short of time sometimes prefer to repurpose cheap off-the-shelf components that can be made to fit the bill. A good example being a wireless thermometer for external use, where an off-the-shelf device provides an inexpensive option complete with the requisite weatherproof packaging. However, such devices typically use proprietary protocols and good documentation is rarely available. This talk will look at how to interface such devices where a degree of reverse-engineering is frequently required. Paul Tanner is a consultant, developer and maker in wood, metal, plastic, electronics and software. His day job is IT-based business improvement for SMEs. By night he turns energy nut, creating tools to optimise energy use. Paul graduated in electronics and was responsible for hardware and software product development and customer services in several product and service start-ups, switching to consulting in 2000. - Practical Wireless Adding wireless connectivity to your latest open hardware project is not difficult, provided that you take the time to understand some of the principles of RF communication. In this talk we will learn about the basics of wireless propagation, and take a look at some of the low cost modules which now make adding wireless even easier. Ken Boak joined BBC Research Department after graduating and worked on digital picture processing of HDTV images, and coding algorithms for video distribution around studios. Since then, Ken has worked in laboratory instrumentation, telecommunications, low power wireless and consumer electronics produced in the Far East. With an interest in renewables, Ken now develops laboratory instruments to teach undergraduates the principles of photovoltaic and wind power. Outside of work, Ken is interested in smart wireless sensors, open source hardware and low cost solutions for the Internet of Things. - An Introduction to the Contiki O/S This talk is aimed to introduce the Contiki OS and some of the development hardware. We will learn about the process of bootstrapping the development environment and there will be a hands-on tutorial. Ilya Dmitrichenko was born in Soviet Latvia in 1985, grew up and attended a secondary school there, and moved to UK as soon as Latvia joined the EU. He attended the biggest university in London and was rather disappointed with the education, but nevertheless carried on and had fun working on a final year engineering project which served as an introduction to the topic of this talk. Ilya is interested in various aspects of hardware and software, spanning from WSN to DSP and several other random fields. - CWIG — The Ciseco Wireless Internet Gateway The CWIG is a new open hardware device that is designed to be the "one and only" platform you'd need for a wireless gateway. It employs the same ATmega328 microcontroller that is familiar to Arduino users and supports Ciseco's TI CC1110-based XRF module, XBee, Bluetooth, RFM12B, X10/HomeEasy, FRAM, SD, Ethernet and over-the-air programming with AVRDude. It's sized to be housed in a low cost, compact enclosure and to be cheap to build using through-hole components. In this talk we will be given an introduction to the CWIG and also to the XRF wireless UART and programmable RF module. Miles Hodkinson's twenty-odd year relationship with IT ended around six years ago when he decided that it was time to do something completely different. He had looked around without success for something to log and control his wind turbine, solar panels and Lister single cylinder engine, and found that nothing was flexible enough for the money he wanted to pay (tens of pounds per device), so he decided he would try and build it himself. After a number of years working on a human-focused method of networking originally built using XBee modules and now termed LLAP, his company developed the TI CC1110-based XRF module. Note: Please aim to arrive for 18:00 - 18:20 as the talks will start at 18:30 prompt. ** Registration: http://oshug.org/event/15 **

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Free XMOS XC-1A dev kits.
by Andrew Back 16 Dec '11

16 Dec '11

Hello, Just in case anyone hadn't spotted this, XMOS are running a promotion where you can pick up an XC-1A dev kit for free: http://blog.solderpad.com/post/14114783567/free-xmos-xc-1a-development-kits For the sake of clarity: SolderPad blog link as we were asked to help promote this, and I couldn't see a link to the form on either xmos.com or xcore.com. Cheers, Andrew

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e-petition on programming in schools
by Jeremy Bennett 18 Nov '11

18 Nov '11

This e-petition to HMG asks to have programming taught in schools It is only tangentially related to the interests of OSHUG. However in general if you learn programming it will bring you into a range of tools and application that are open source. The understanding it brings also helps awareness of open source. And of course one of the best ways of learning real programming is with Arduino. https://submissions.epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/15081 If it reaches 100,000 signatures, then it may be considered by parliament. Given the number of programmers in the UK that should be achievable. I believe that any member of the public can sign e-petitions, not just adult voters. In particular if you have children who care about this issue (mine do), then they can sign as well. Jeremy -- Tel: +44 (1590) 610184 Cell: +44 (7970) 676050 SkypeID: jeremybennett Email: jeremy.bennett(a)embecosm.com Web: www.embecosm.com

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Hacker Day @ Oxford Instruments - 3rd December
by Paul Downey 10 Nov '11

10 Nov '11

Forwarded from the Oxford Geeks mailing list .. ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Jason Field <jason(a)jasonfield.com> Date: Thu, Nov 10, 2011 at 3:18 PM Subject: [oxfordgeeks] Hacker Day @ Oxford Instruments - 3rd December To: list(a)oxfordhackspace.org.uk, oxfordgeeks(a)googlegroups.com Hi all, My quest to open up Oxford Instrument's doors to the local hacking community has succeeded, and we're planning to hold an event on the 3rd of December for all who are interested! The theme for the first event will be 3D printing since it brings together a lot of different aspects of the open source hardware movement, but we'll be happy to welcome anyone who has a project they'd like to work on. On site we have; * Scopes/DVMs * Professional soldering stations * General tools * Miscellaneous electronic bits 'n bobs (SMD resistors & caps, wire etc.) * Space * Refreshments & lunch * First-class bodging skills See the attached flyer for address details. If you're interested in coming along then please let me know (either email or @iamjasonfield) so we have a rough idea of numbers. Thanks, Jason PS. Apologies for the cross-posting, and date conflict with the excellent-looking Random Hacks of Kindness. Maybe we can look at some random hardware hacks of kindness at OI? -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Oxford Geeks" group. To post to this group, send email to oxfordgeeks(a)googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to oxfordgeeks+unsubscribe(a)googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/oxfordgeeks?hl=en. -- Paul (psd) http://blog.whatfettle.com

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OSHUG #14 — Open for Change Part 2 (Hexayurt, O + S, Onawi), Thursday 24th November.
by Andrew Back 08 Nov '11

08 Nov '11

Hello, Details are now online and registration is open for the November meeting. Cheers, Andrew --- OSHUG #14 — Open for Change Pt.2 (Hexayurt, O + S Project, Onawi) 24th November 2011, 18:00 - 20:00 at Centre for Creative Collaboration, 16 Acton Street, London, WC1X 9NG (51.529049, -0.116436) Registration: http://oshug.org/event/14 Back in May at OSHUG #10 we heard about three projects concerned with effecting positive change. At the thirteenth meeting we'll be continuing with this theme, and hearing about the Hexayurt disaster relief shelter, documenting Appropriate Technology for the needs of others, and open renewables. - Free and Open Source Housing The Hexayurt is an award-winning replacement for the disaster relief tent which provides shelter at 20% the cost of a tent. It is designed to be manufactured anywhere in the world at any scale, from local materials, as Free hardware, to house humans in need. The Hexayurt Project maintains the designs and makes them freely available. An estimated $250,000 worth of Hexayurts were built at Burning Man this year. Vinay Gupta is one the world’s leading thinkers on infrastructure theory, state failure solutions, and managing global system risks including poverty/development and the environmental crisis. He works at both the theoretical level, building models and mapping tools and at the practical level, as the designer of the Hexayurt, he helped start the US National Defense University STAR-TIDES program on humanitarian assistance, consulted on urban resilience for Arup, and is an associate fellow of the UCL Institute for Security and Resilience Studies. - The Needs of Others One of the areas seeing heavy influence from the Free and Open Source Software (F/OSS) movement is Appropriate Technology, and the O+S Project is working from the perspective of its documentation. It is investigating the difficulty in translating from F/OSS to Appropriate Technology at both a practices and principles level, and how we must go further to meet the goals with the world’s poorest people. Al Razi Masri is a recent Manufacturing Engineering graduate and founder of the O+S Project. In addition to which he is working on documentation for the Hexayurt Project and instructional documents for other Appropriate Technology. - Open Hardware and Renewable Energy Onawi is a non-profit organisation promoting open hardware for the development of non-domestic wind energy systems. Open hardware is becoming increasingly popular, as we can see in the recent initiative by Facebook to open up the technology behind their data-centres. However, most open hardware projects are targeted at hobbyists or those looking for custom do-it-yourself alternatives to mass market products. While this is a very positive aspect, at Onawi we believe that open licensing and collaborative development could have a far reaching impact on industrial production. In particular, Open Hardware could provide the horizontal technology transfer of renewables required to fight climate change in developing countries. Javier Ruiz is a UK based digital activist and social entrepreneur promoting open data, open standards and open licensing as the basis for a better future based on transparency, participation and collaboration. His practical work cuts across various spheres ranging from citizen journalism, archives to renewable energy. His background is in anthropology and technology management, and you can normally find him at the Open Rights Group. Note: Please aim to arrive for 18:00 - 18:20 as the talks will start at 18:30 prompt. Registration: http://oshug.org/event/14

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Open Source Hardware Camp, Thursday 27th October.
by Andrew Back 01 Nov '11

01 Nov '11

Hello, Registration is now open for the inaugural Open Source Hardware Camp which will take place on Thursday 27th October. Further details should be added to the event page in due course. Cheers, Andrew -- Open Source Hardware Camp 27th October 2011, 09:30 - 18:00 at Centre for Creative Collaboration, 16 Acton Street, London, WC1X 9NG, (51.529049, -0.116436) http://oshug.org/event/oshcamp Join us at the inaugural Open Source Hardware Camp for a hands-on day of three parallel workshops, with short plenary sessions in the morning and afternoon. - Practical 3D Printing A hands-on session in which we will use OpenSCAD (an open-source, code-based, 3D parametric CAD software system to design simple 3-dimensional objects), and other freely available tools, to turn the resulting designs into files that can be used to drive a RepRap 3D printer, or similar rapid prototyping device. Further details TBD. Graham Klyne has been a software developer since the late 1970s, during that time having been involved in projects and products ranging from industrial process control, 3-D motion capture, network infrastructure, home automation, semantic web technologies and research data curation. He has also been involved in the development of IETF and Web standards. More recently, he has been pursuing a personal interest in 3D printing - which neatly complements his earlier work in motion capture - and has constructed a RepRap machine (which he hopes to use for making specialist parts for model aircraft) and has been learning a little about 3-D parametric CAD. As a member of the pif3D project, David Flanders helps coordinate the parts, materials, tools and skill required for people to build their own 3D printers. This is all done for free, so long as you promise to help someone else build their own printer as well! David enjoys hacking code in his spare time and working on designing new 3D models, currently he is working on prototype 3D models for: a rollerblade frame (for off road inline skating), a flowerpot that has a water reservoir (so it doesn't dry out when you are on holiday or forget to water it) and lighting fixtures (including translucent lamp shades, candelabras and chandeliers). David's day job is working with technology innovation projects in Universities throughout the UK. - Building the Internet of Things with Nanode and Pachube In this workshop we will be given an introduction to Nanode, the low cost open source Arduino-like board that has built in web connectivity, and Pachube, the web-based service "built to manage the World's real-time data". Following which the workshop will split into two groups and build a real world IoT application for the Centre for Creative Collaboration. With one group focusing on Nanode development and the other using Pachube to develop the online part of the application. Ken Boak joined BBC Research Department after graduating and worked on digital picture processing of HDTV images, and coding algorithms for video distribution around studios. Since then, Ken has worked in laboratory instrumentation, telecommunications, low power wireless and consumer electronics produced in the Far East. With an interest in renewables, Ken now develops laboratory instruments to teach undergraduates the principles of photovoltaic and wind power. Outside of work, Ken is interested in smart wireless sensors, open source hardware and low cost solutions for the Internet of Things. Paul Tanner is a consultant, developer and maker in wood, metal, plastic, electronics and software. His day job is IT-based business improvement for SMEs. By night he turns energy nut, creating tools to optimise energy use. Paul graduated in electronics and was responsible for hardware and software product development and customer services in several product and service start-ups, switching to consulting in 2000. - Collaboration in Open Source Hardware Whilst the development practices associated with open source software are now reasonably mature and understood by many, the same cannot be said of open source hardware and with it come specific challenges. For example, in terms of collaboration across design tools, managing contributions, licensing and project presentation. In this workshop we will be given an introduction to Electronic Design Automation (EDA) tools and the process of documenting a project, licensing and other challenges, before looking at the current options available for presentation and collaboration. Further details TBD. Paul Downey is a doodler, a maker and a veteran communications software developer. He has been hacking embedded systems since the late 1970s. Formerly BT's Chief Web Services Architect, and lead W3C representative, he was until recently a member of Osmosoft — a small team building open source Web collaboration systems. Paul is co-founder of SolderPad, a place to share, discover and collaborate on electronic projects. Andrew Back is an artist, electronics hacker and open source advocate. He acted as BT's Open Source Strategist, establishing company-wide open source policy and process and representing them at a number of bodies including The Linux Foundation and ATIS. Andrew co-founded the Electron Club in 2006 — one of the UK's first hackerspaces, and is co-founder of SolderPad, a place to share, discover and collaborate on electronic projects. Note: * Please aim to arrive for 09:30-09:45 as the event will start at 10:00 prompt. * A light lunch and refreshments will be provided. Please ensure that you make any dietary requirements clear when registering. // With thanks to sponsor DesignSpark — http://www.designspark.com //

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Talk on OpenRISC at the BCS OSSG
by Jeremy Bennett 12 Oct '11

12 Oct '11

You will recall that I gave a short talk on OpenCores and OpenRISC 1000 to OSHUG earlier this year. I will be giving a fuller version of that talk, including a hands-on demonstration at the BCS Open Source Specialist Group in London on Monday 17 October. We'll have real hardware there, plus anyone with a Linux laptop will be able to join in using the OpenRISC architectural simulator. http://ossg.bcs.org/2011/10/ Although run by the BCS, the meeting is open to all. Just email Mark Elkins (mark_elkins(a)bcs.org) if you would like attend. Jeremy Bennett -- Tel: +44 (1590) 610184 Cell: +44 (7970) 676050 SkypeID: jeremybennett Email: jeremy.bennett(a)embecosm.com Web: www.embecosm.com

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