The Maker Faire
Posted on June 10, 2011
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Young Americans are much given to the word awesome and correspondingly many young Australians have adopted the expression. It is applied as a general indicator of approval to virtually every conceivable activity. I recently saw a hand painted sign on a Californian street corner saying “Yard Sale – Awesome”
Generally they are not referring to the kind of awe of the “shock and awe” variety that Americans use to describe their colossal military might when it is deployed against some foreign target.
Recently another quite different and perhaps more gentle type of American awe was in evidence at the 2011 San Francisco Maker Faire – and that is the sense of awe about how the world works.
The Maker Faire is a rapidly expanding phenomena conceived by Dale Dougherty, the editor of Make magazine. Both magazine and event rest on the premise that Americans, and young Americans in particular, are rediscovering the joy of making and tinkering.
The first generation that grew up entirely immersed in the digital online realm are now combining the benefits of the internet’s social and information structure with more traditional pastimes such as knitting, dismantling household appliances and adapting bicycles. But unlike the older generation of makers, there’s a subtle distinction from DIY (Doing It Yourself) to DIT (Doing It Together) – using the net to build communities of shared knowledge, problem solving, invention etc. The net in effect has turbocharged the process of learning and making.
This recombination of tinkering new and old resulted in a 20 acres carnival of techno whizzbangery at the San Mateo County showgrounds near Silicon Valley and a little to the south of San Francisco.
Now in its sixth year, the event has everything from traditional knitters to high-end robotics and everything in between. There’s some of the most imaginative uses of bicycles you’ll see anywhere on the planet and even a functional, backyard built DIY scanning electron microscope.
Attended by around 100,000 people over an early spring weekend, Maker Faire is similar in size and feel to going to an annual agricultural show in a regional city.
There are, however, no displays of farm animals or produce. Instead, ,one finds many stalls giving hands-on demonstrations of soldering up electronic circuitry that can run everything from three dimensional printers to “e-textiles” –clothing with digital circuitry built into it.
The electronics connection, which is a crucial link between the old and new DIY tradition, is driven in part by an Italian invention called Arduino.
Arduino is a basic electronic microprocessor that enables relatively inexperienced people to construct simple interactive devices that can control lights, switches, motors and so on. The system has very simple operating software that can operate alone or in tandem with a computer.
Basic Arduino projects can be anything from a simple robot to a musical tone generator to your own personal LED displays or an electronic gas sensor. In short anything that requires simple electronic instructions to operate (and that includes many of the consumer goods around us) can usually be replicated, altered and tweaked.
Known as “open source hardware”, this technology is publicly and openly available for anyone to study, modify, make and generally explore its possibilities through tinkering. The software that controls it is equally freely available.
This commitment to openness is part of a larger philosophical approach to freely available knowledge that is particularly strong in the SanFrancisco/Bay area, which in many ways is the birthplace of the modern digital world – and a renowned home of radical political movements.
This altruistic streak comes through in many ways that we have rapidly taken for granted as being free or gratis – Wikipedia and Google for instance, or free software such as Linux or Firefox.
Many of these new emerged institutions are represented at Maker Faire, along with many of the corporate citizens of nearby Silicon Valley: Pixar, ASUS, Hewlett Packard to name a few.
Dale Dougherty, Maker Faire’s founder, is encouraging corporate stewardship of the event because he sees the modern maker movement is being very similar in spirit to the early days of desktop publishing computing in the early 1970s. According to Dale, the next generation of imaginative, problem-solving engineers– the Steve Jobs or Steve Wozniak of the 2020s – will almost certainly be somewhere in the Maker Faire right now.
Many of those young people include a striking number of young women and girls. The stereotype of the nerdy young computer boy in thick glasses seems to have to have vanished. One of the most obvious examples of this change is Meredith Scheff who has designed and uses soft circuit boards that can be ironed or glued into fabric and sells her own conductive thread that can be used in a conventional sewing machine. People like Meredith, who are driven by a passion and excitement for the possibilities of their unusual combination of skills, are going to be strongly sought after by the corporations designing future technology.
Being self-driven, the Meredith Scheffs of this world, with their mashup of wildly variable influences, are not constrained by conventional design solutions to problems. As such, they are potentially hugely valuable to those corporations looking to make quantum leaps in design.
The Maker Faire event fairly crackles with the huge sense of excitement inherent in this optimistic creativity. It is discussed both in the hundreds of booths, stalls and demonstrations and in the numerous well-attended free talks. Speakers included science fiction writer David Brin, MIT Fab Lab founder Neil Gershenfeld, Frank Wilson, the wonderful mind/hand guru and Chris Anderson, the editor of Wired magazine.
With this mixture of the practical and the intellectual, Maker Faire has become the point around which a revitalised sense of American ‘can do’ capability has coalesced. To call it awe may be stretching it a little far but there is a strange and deliberately risky sense of awesome possibility in the air, even if it is just the sheer delight of having fun with raw undomesticated innovation. Perhaps it’s that Americans sense that here is a chance to reinvent themselves once more, returning to an older theme as “makers of things” , an expression used honourably by President Obama in his inauguration address. There’s also a sense that the spirit represented at Maker Faire might just be be the latest instalment in the several century long American experiment of easily available, shared and enlightening knowledge. For a nation rather rattled by a decade of uncertainty and the possible paradigm shift of responding to climate change, it’s a deeply attractive proposition. Watch this space!
Comment invited
Mark Thomson wishes to acknowledge the assistance of Big Picture Education Australia in making this trip possible
Rare Trades: 9. the shoemaker
Posted on May 11, 2011
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This film was made by cinematographer Kim Batterham, producer Graeme Isaac and director Mark Thomson, as part of the National Museum of Australia’s Rare Trades exhibition. We acknowledge the NMA’s assistance in bringing these clips to you.
Rare Trades: 8. the coachbuilder
Posted on May 11, 2011
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This film was made by cinematographer Kim Batterham, producer Graeme Isaac and director Mark Thomson, as part of the National Museum of Australia’s Rare Trades exhibition. We acknowledge the NMA’s assistance in bringing these clips to you.
Rare Trades: 7. the milliner
Posted on May 11, 2011
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This film was made by cinematographer Kim Batterham, producer Graeme Isaac and director Mark Thomson, as part of the National Museum of Australia’s Rare Trades exhibition. We acknowledge the NMA’s assistance in bringing these clips to you.
Rare Trades: 6. the scrolling painter
Posted on May 11, 2011
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This film was made by cinematographer Kim Batterham, producer Graeme Isaac and director Mark Thomson, as part of the National Museum of Australia’s Rare Trades exhibition. We acknowledge the NMA’s assistance in bringing these clips to you.
Rare Trades: 5. the sawmaker
Posted on May 11, 2011
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This film about the traditional craft of saw making was made by cinematographer Kim Batterham, producer Graeme Isaac and director Mark Thomson, as part of the National Museum of Australia’s Rare Trades exhibition. We acknowledge the NMA’s assistance in bringing these clips to you.
Henry Hoke will just not go away
Posted on February 12, 2011
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Despite our best efforts to consign Henry Hoke and his brilliant works to the great book of history, the old coot will not lay down and die!
The Lost Tools of Henry Hoke exhibition continues to tour to regional South Australia throughout some of 2012 and negotiations are underway for the exhibition’s location to Canberra in 2013.
In the meantime the exhibition will be touring in regional SA – Roxby Downs from April 18 to May 27, Port Lincoln from June 13 to July 15 and Goolwa soon after that.
In addition some of Henry’s work will feature in an exhibition at Arizona State University called Emerge
http://emerge.asu.edu/
Henry will be amongst a collection of science fiction persons as part of “Powered by Fiction: Artists, Makers, Tinkerers and the Backstories that Inspire Them to Create, presented by Intel in The Design Gallery. Sadly, pressure of work here at the Institute prevents Research Director Mark Thomson from attending and setting them straight.
Rare Trades: 4. Dry Stone Walling
Posted on June 29, 2010
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James Collins and Huntly Barton demonstrate the ancient trade of dry stone walling in this film, which was made by cinematographer Kim Batterham, producer Graeme Isaac and director Mark Thomson, as part of the National Museum of Australia’s Rare Trades exhibition. We acknowledge the NMA’s assistance in bringing these clips to you.
Rare Trades: 3. Stonemason
Posted on May 7, 2010
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Stonemason Andrew Patience is a “time served” stonemason” – he has done the full traditional stonemasonry apprenticeship and has a strong belief in the moral power of the nature of work.
Rare Trades: 2. Tinsmithing
Posted on April 21, 2010
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John Yard demonstrates the ancient trade of tinsmithing in this film, which was made by cinematographer Kim Batterham, producer Graeme Isaac and director Mark Thomson, as part of the National Museum of Australia’s Rare Trades exhibition. We acknowledge the NMA’s assistance in bringing these clips to you.
Rare Trades: 1. Bookbinding
Posted on April 15, 2010
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The Institute of Backyard Studies is proud to present a series of short films on some of the rare trades which are fast disappearing in the modern world. The films, originally made by Institute Director Mark Thomson with producer Graeme Isaac and renowned cinematographer Kim Batterham to accompany an exhibition on Rare Trades presented by the National Museum of Australia, will be posted on the site one by one over the next few weeks. The first one features the art of traditional hand bookbinding as practised by Daphne Lera, and coming soon will be films on sawmaking, stonemasonry, coachbuilding, shoemaking, millinery, scroll painting – and more. Check the site every week or so for new films.
We look forward to your comments on the films, and any suggestions for other rare manually skilled trades which the Institute might investigate in future.
Burt Munro’s spirit lives on
Posted on December 30, 2009
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*One of the above is true!
Deep in a former crumpet factory in Adelaide’s western suburbs Spog and the Volts on Salt One team are hard at work on an electric racing bike they believe will have the grunt to take out the world record.
A former professional go-kart driver, Spog has assembled a dedicated team who over the next couple of months will prepare the bike for their assault on the record. In late March 2011 they will wheel a mighty quick bike out onto the salt flats of Lake Gairdner in outback South Australia.
On the 10 mile straight track, the mass of lithium (LiFePO4) batteries will discharge their magic in a few minutes and Spog and Volts on Salt 1 will travel at unspeakable (ie we’re not telling you yet) speed.
To learn more about this must-attend event go to http://www.dlra.org.au/ Already it looks like having a big turn out. Spog recently went up to the Lake Gairdner site and said it was all looking fantastic. The event seems to be very well organised as it has been running for over twenty years.
In the meantime the Institute of Backyard Studies site will be the place to keep track of the Volts on Salt developments.We’re proud to be associated with Spog and his crew’s efforts and salute the spirit of Shed Scientists everywhere and Burt Munro of World’s Fastest Indian fame in particular.
Good on you fellas for having a RED HOT GO!
For further information about electric vehicles, check out the Australian Electric Vehicles Association website on http://www.aeva.asn.au/
Mid January update
The VOLTwerks crew have been putting in a few late nights lately. The two Advanced DC L91 motors fell into place after many nights, working frantically for a technical inspection in Gawler this Sunday (23rd January). The original frame, a 2001 Suzuki GSXR donated by a mate who rode it into the back of a parked car and decided that it would be better as a contender for the electric land speed record, has been heavily modified. It will be considerably heavier than the original bike as weight is an important factor in racing at higher speeds.
The batteries – LiFePO4 – have turned up, all 240 of them, which will deliver 150 volts of power through a Soliton Motor Controller. As for the bike speed that will result from this much power… only the Lake will tell in late March. There should be heaps of people turning up for the tests. (see http://www.dlra.org.au/ )
February 1st update
Despite the fact that it has been murderously hot in Adelaide in the last few days (and in a shed with a low roof it really cooks) the VOLTwerks team have been hard at it. They’re hoping to having a working bike running in two weeks and ready for dyno tests in three weeks. Despite this cracking pace, the team has introduced a radical new element to the design at this late hour: they’ve added a third motor to go in front of the other two main motors. This motor, a 20 HP brushless DC outrunner motor from a very large radio controlled model helicopter, will accelerate the bike from 0 to 30 kph. A clutch will then disengage this small motor and the two large motors will then kick in. The logic behind this third motor is about energy efficiency: the considerable force required at starting (and thus the heat generated) will be borne by this motor. The clutch mechanism will have to be smooth…
The engine mounting work has continued and about 2/3 of the batteries have been tentatively put into place in the space where the fuel tank would have once gone. Each of the small batteries can put out an astonishing 100amps of current! These batteries are joined up through the Soliton motor controller which discharges energy as required. So much power is dangerous – there’s lots of warning in the instructions about how a spanner dropped across the terminals will vaporise…
The remaining 1.3 of the batteries will be distributed about the bike, including along the swing arm (the forks of the back wheel – shown below on a jig). ”Pistol Pete” a legendary gun metal fabricator, has been brought in to help with the rebuilt swing arm, which Spog estimates is about 4 times heavier than the original. It’s built like a loco. Crew Chief Rocket Rodders has been putting in long hours helping with the fabrication and keeping some quality control to the design. Another vital team member has been Dr Jeff who is the guru of all things electrical. The team is doing good things. Everything thus far seems to be going to plan although there’s a hell of a lot of work to go yet. Bring on March!
Mid February update
Work is progressing and the shape of the creature is emerging
9th March update
With up to 5 people working on the bike up to 18 or 20 hours a day, the pressure is really on at the Voltwerks.
Resident boffin Dr Jeff has been putting in long hours soldering up an enormous amount of circuitry that will evenly control the battery charging and discharging. Nearly all the standard parts of the bike such as brakes, throttle have been reinstalled on the original frame and in many cases beefed up. As the bike needs to be heavy to prevent wheelspin at high speed, there is ample opportunity to add heavy weight in terms of robust structural design – as long as the additions all fit within the streamlined fairing. There’s also been a very nice bright orange paint job -it’s going to look good as well as go like hell.
One anticipated problem is the dissipating the rapid heat build-up in the motors from putting a colossal amount of electricity in a short time and then cooling them down again after the run. Spog and Rocket Rodders have built a cooling system that pumps coolant through an ice tank and then in coils around the motors and also cools the Soliton Controller. This is about to be put together and trialled and when the circuitry is finished and a few more bits fall into place, the moment of truth will take place… very soon.
DISASTER!
Heavy rains in the South Australian desert have made the roads to Lake Gairdner impassable, cancelling the March 2011 DLRA meeting!
The Volts on Salt team, after months of incredibly hard work, are gutted. Especially when the bike was so close to being ready. A showdown with the competition sometime in the next few months is still on the cards if a suitable venue (ie a disused airstrip in good condition) can be found.
In the meantime, VOS1 runs, and beautifully smoothly at that.(You tube clip cming soon)
Spog and the boys are going to take a breather but are committed as ever. Stay tuned.
What do we know about Henry Hoke?
Posted on December 3, 2009
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Contemplation of Henry’s work always provokes thought: indeed, profound thought. What is this widget really for? What was he thinking when he made this? Why bother? What is the point of anything? Henry Hoke was (potentially at least) our own Thomas Edison, never fully recognised … but right to the end, he was a sceptically thoughtful yet energetic man whose activities ranged far and wide across the broad fields of human endeavour. I believe that for his colossal efforts Henry deserves, at the very least, a dusty, inconspicuous corner in the Temple of Fame. Henry Hoke’s life promised so much yet the specific details often remained elusive: the few scraps that remain are like the glimpse of magnificent vine-covered ancient ruins through a dense jungle. They tantalise us and pose more questions than they answer.
We know, for instance, that he was raised in the small town of Hoke’s Bluff, now a ghost town – sometimes there, sometimes not. His father, Silas Hoke, was the town’s pharmacist and librarian and of slightly sinister character. His mother Beryl was a leading figure in the Ladies’ Blacksmithing League, an organisation described as midway between the Hell’s Angels and the Country Women’s League. It is almost certain that Henry gained his early mechanical and metalworking skills from his accomplished mother.We know that he worked for a period in the Merchant Marine and as an automotive mechanic and a shearer. Despite our painstaking forensic reconstructions and laborious research, the mighty jigsaw that is Henry Hoke still has many empty spaces. It is time to redress the outrage that we have, until now, neglected a true prince of inventiveness in our midst, a man whose life’s work towers above us like a monument to colossal pointlessness. I leave you to reach your own conclusions about Henry Hoke’s astonishing life and work. I’ve got no idea. Readers are encouraged to help fill in any details they might of Henry’s lfe and activities by clicking here.
For the connoisseur of corrugated iron
Posted on August 31, 2009
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As the ABC Collectors programme knows very well, people collect all sorts of stuff. One particular line of collectible that doesn’t turn up very often is corrugated iron.
Almost immediately after it was invented sometime in the early 1820s by Henry Robinson Palmer, a British engineer and naval design, it rapidly became a popular lightweight building material (although the early corro was very thick – sometimes up to ten times its usual thickness nowadays – which gives a clue of the age of any really old corro you might find.
It’s hard to credit but there are still a few snobs around who sneer at it for being ‘too industrial”. Get a life, I say – or else you try lifting 2 square metres of roof tiles in one go and see what you think then… Corrugated iron is fabulously efficient, strong and effective building material that we here at the Institute like to celebrate.
So it was with great pleasure that I recently met Wayne Rabone, one of Australia’s small number of corrugated iron collectors, Wayne, a demolition contractor who lives in Kaniva in Western Victoria, has easily the biggest collection I’ve ever seen. Being a demolition contractor must have a few advantages in this line of collecting.
Wayne reckons there are about 10 other people around who collect pretty seriously.
If you are of a similar mind or have a piece of iron that might interest him, his contact details are:
Wayne Rabone, 5 David St., Kaniva Vic 3419
Ph 03 5392 2442, Mobile: 0408 922442
Also my good friend Don Morrison makes steel bodied guitars out of old flattened corrugated iron sheets and is always on the look out for nice old logos and so on. We’ve been working on doing an old fashioned Donmo logo to spray on some new iron but am having trouble finding the right ink (it’s not a paint by the way) that can penetratev the zinc/steel. The stuff that they were using 100 years ago must have been pretty amazing. Anybody got any suggestons?
Mark Thomson
