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Seek Robotics Makerspace - Page 2 — Parallax Forums

Seek Robotics Makerspace

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  • RS_JimRS_Jim Posts: 1,751
    edited 2015-06-02 06:26
    xanadu wrote: »
    Good to go Jim, looking forward to meeting you. I would have like to be at Riddle (in your neck of the woods) but San Diego isn't bad for flight training. I'm at a new flight school now, I'm student #12. They offer a flat rate based on the rating, and I can stay here and do what I do best to boot!
    Very cool! I was wondering about all of that. I will start pushing on thr rope at this end and see if we can come up with a date.
    Jim
  • The wife and the company both have nixed this trip, but will keep all of you in mind if I can pull something off!
    Jim
  • The wife and the company both have nixed this trip, but will keep all of you in mind if I can pull something off!
    By the way how is the hacker space coming?
    Jim
  • We've started/had a hackerspace now in our basement for 2-3 years and it's thriving!  If you end up creating the place and use word of mouth, and weekly openings, all of the items you need - furniture, test equipment, junk, not junk, will find its way to you! 
    You could advertise the classes in community papers/library bulletin boards, and of course word of mouth (which works best for our particular hackerspace).  If you have any questions about that, let me know - looks like a great opportunity!
  • The wife and the company both have nixed this trip, but will keep all of you in mind if I can pull something off!
    By the way how is the hacker space coming?
    Jim

    Sorry to hear, I guess you'll have to telecommute :)  
    We've started/had a hackerspace now in our basement for 2-3 years and it's thriving!  If you end up creating the place and use word of mouth, and weekly openings, all of the items you need - furniture, test equipment, junk, not junk, will find its way to you! 
    You could advertise the classes in community papers/library bulletin boards, and of course word of mouth (which works best for our particular hackerspace).  If you have any questions about that, let me know - looks like a great opportunity!

    That's awesome, thanks! I'm looking forward to being able to advertise. 
    The spot is coming along nicely. I need a security gate for the front windows. Unfortunately required due to past break-ins. I plan to solve that issue this month. 
    That means it should be open in August. I will send out invites for local peoples, and collect some gear to hack. 






  • This is the window, the lowest quote I have on sliding metal gate is $1200 :( 
    I could put a speakers outside with PIR connected to an EMIC 2 that talks people out of breaking in haha. Waaaay cheaper! 

    office%20front.JPG
  • Keeping a couple tough dogs there at night could do the trick also.
  • Xanadu,
    Security upgrades should lower your insurance rate.
  • Genetix,
    It does, and having no inventory does even more for it haha. Insurance aside it would be super to have something to prevent anyone from even trying.  
  • Just don't tell the insurance company it's to protect your robots....they will INCREASE the rates!!
  • Just don't tell the insurance company it's to protect your robots....they will INCREASE the rates!!


    Especially if they know I'm on a forum where people build flame throwing robots! 
  • kwinnkwinn Posts: 8,697

    Sounds like the perfect job for a pir and flame throwing robot night watchman ;-)
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,244
    Sure looks like a nice space, xanadu! Def interested in seeing it sometime, late Aug is prolly my first chance.  On vacation first half of Aug, and swamped until then. Can you Youtube a quick walkthrough of your space?
  • Thanks, late August would be great. 
    The pic in the first post is the area, the office and upstairs are full. It's about 500'sq. 4 desks would fit nice, so probably 8 people and maybe some guests. I'm using folding desks and chairs so I can move everything out of the way for the multirotor stuff.
    I'll make some video this afternoon, I'm off to work on an animatronic for it :) 

  • I'm absolutely hooked on Quadcopters but I only became involved after my brother gave me one that he wasn't using. I soon bought a bigger one at a local hobby store. The store owner demonstrated and recommended a durable, inexpensive one for me. Crashing it is part of the learning process. I would NOT have bought it without having first seen it physically.A brick and mortar store made the difference for me. I wish you luck.I also think FPV will become very popular.
  • Thanks Larry. I agree about FPV, I get lost in my goggles at least once a week! 
  • ICD10 aside, things in my micro-mini hackerspace are falling into place. I started a business called Seek Robotics. Many website and social media issues to work out, but still a lot of progress. I managed to get some comfortable chairs and some desks. There's a Propeller and EMIC 2 in the ceiling... The little kid in me traveled forward in time and high fived me.

    Since this is a side job everything is by appointment. I call it an "event". I'm hosting events and anticipate a high customer acquisition cost. Luckily it's a side job and if it doesn't work, I walk away with nothing lost. I'm going to bring in small groups people in for free and let them play around with a bunch of gear. I'm really looking forward to the S3, and anticipate using the BS2 Activity Kit.

    That will be my thing, then there will be a lot of other events. Organizing events is fun, almost as fun as finished code :)











  • xanaduxanadu Posts: 3,347
    edited 2015-08-23 03:34
    I started a meetup group, check it out. http://www.meetup.com/Seek-Robotics-Meetup

    Next goals are;

    1. Build core group of members consisting of local STEM educators, mentors, tutors and makers
    2. Crowdfund $8,000+ (3D printers, laser cutter, robots, kits, materials,)
    3. Develop relations with Parallax and Adafruit
    4. Increase exposure

    I will be the open door to open source.
  • xanaduxanadu Posts: 3,347
    edited 2015-08-28 07:28
    The first meetup was a huge success. It was scheduled from 7pm to 9pm, but it didn't end until 11pm. My main goal was to create some pics and video to show off the space. I had a bunch of desks and chairs to be delivered the day of the meetup. Really bad idea, because they didn't show up.

    We made it work, 9 people showed up so I borrowed a few chairs from the office next to me and the fun began. It took almost an hour to go around the table and introduce 9 people to each other. The following three hours consisted of a mind mindbogglingly diverse list of topics and professions. The last hour there were 3D printed hand, IoT, Copters, FPV, S2, EMIC2, PING, Protoboards, Prop Stick, and the BS2 homework board. I have some great video and pics to put together!

    Here's the star of the show -

    IMG_1143.JPG
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  • BeanBean Posts: 8,129
    Xanadu,
    When my local Radio Shack was going out of business, I bought a bunch (dozens) of the Ultrasonic distance sensor http://www.radioshack.com/radioshack-ultrasonic-range-sensor/2760342.html and the PIR motion detector sensor http://www.radioshack.com/radioshack-passive-infrared-sensor/2760347.html

    These are brand new in the original radio shack packaging.
    I would like to donate a dozen of each to your effort. You may do with them as you see fit (sell, prizes, etc).

    Send me a PM with your address and I'll get them to you.

    Good luck.

    Bean
  • Bean,

    That is very generous of you, thank you. If you'd like I can add you to our contributor list.

    The PING was the most popular sensor. I gave it a brief introduction and moved onto another sensor, and everyone said, waaaaaaaaait a minute. Go back to that PING sensor. PINGdar will be a bit hit for sure!

  • ercoerco Posts: 20,244
    Very cool, congrats on a heckuva start!
  • xanaduxanadu Posts: 3,347
    edited 2015-08-28 22:03
    Thanks!

    Here's a short video.





  • xanaduxanadu Posts: 3,347
    edited 2015-09-18 08:32
    Tonight is not about Seek robotics. Tonight is about someone else, who spent a lot of time preparing something for everyone. For free. The 2nd meetup was a huge success. We're gaining 10 members a week. Tonight the meetup was limited to 12 people and it was full 5 days ago. Everyone that RSVP'd showed up, including 7 people from the first meetup.

    At the first meetup I told everyone I want to keep > 50% of the meetups free. Anyone willing to do an introductory course for free would make it possible. One of the members said he could do an intro to 3D and bring his printer, and build the InMoov humanoid over the course of a few months. He ended up giving a extremely well prepared presentation. A couple of Meetup robotics group veterans pulled me aside and said they haven't seen anything like it.

    Needless to say, here are some pics. Printer is printrbot metal and soon to be robot is InMoov.

    This isn't part of the InMoov. The parts of the hand were printed beforehand. Just in case. Printing was limited to instant gratification in the time period allowed. Cool shapes are just as much fun.
    IMG_1197.JPG

    It's alive!
    IMG_1201.JPG

    Here is the first hand
    IMG_1198.JPG

    A bit of the face
    IMG_1210.JPG

    Elbow
    IMG_1211.JPG

    Finger
    IMG_1209.JPG

    Finger parts
    IMG_1202.JPG

    Nathan is top notch
    IMG_1194.JPG

    Notice the powered down ceiling robot
    IMG_1196.JPG

    Four roboticists
    IMG_1204.JPG

    Acetone station
    IMG_1205.JPG

    Someone had to get the middle finger
    IMG_1206.JPG

    Box of parts
    IMG_1200.JPG

    Smooth
    IMG_1199.JPG

    Flexible
    IMG_1207.JPG

    I think it's great that the county's elite meetup roboticists show up and walk out saying it's the best meetup they have attended. I gave up some office space, and landed a makerspace.
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,244
    Sa-Weet! Let me know when your next meeting is.
  • Thanks, tentatively next Thursday the 24th at 7pm. Will you be around?

  • ercoerco Posts: 20,244
    Will see. I forgot that you start kinda late. You cats go until 11, then I have a 2 hour drive home. :)

    Not that I'm an early to bed wuss... In fact, I just pulled an all nighter and delivered a new working robot to a client at 10 am today.
  • It's a pre-"hello world" class, you have to go! I put some AC/DC song clips in the power supply section. If you're driving back the same day stop in earlier. My phone number is in my email sig make sure you bring it.

    Or, maybe we can skip the makerspace and find the MIA @gordon I think I have his home address somewhere.

    Congrats on delivering, that is good news.
  • The Makerspace is going strong with new members. Tonight three female roboticists assembled the Activity Bot quickly and without guidance, using the included tools. We made the servos move, it was nuts! Jack has been volunteering to come to each meetup and talk about hardware and programming. I get a little in here and there too :)
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    816 x 612 - 147K
  • Progress Report:

    We're up from 1 member per day to 1.1 members per day.

    @Whit The member list is mostly men, but the attendance has been 50% women for the past three meetups :)

    The attendance for the intro to multirotor (indoor micro) has been 100% women. They wanted extra batteries for their copter within 24 hours of the class. This is the only paid meetup and the money pays for the meetup.com subscription. It's a fun way to donate to the group.

    The rest of the meetups have been completely free. The presenters volunteer their time and give away hardware to members who show up and pay nothing.

    I'm doing some individual training with a couple of members. The BS2 What's A Microcontroller kit is a hit. I task them with inventing something already invented, like a garage parking sensor. Within an hour they're able to assemble the hardware and code to use three different colored LEDs and PING to indicate proximity. I don't need anything besides the book that comes with the kit to present it :)

    Parallax and the forum members contributed enormous amounts of hardware, tools and books. I can't thank you guys enough.
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