Flowing electrons and glowing LEDs beckon you to come to Maker Faire Bay Area on May 18-20. If you’re obsessed with tracing circuits and seeing what the absolute coolest projects in the world are, you want to be there. It is always hard to explain just how amazing the things you’ll find are, so here are a few examples of things we know will be there, and be incredible.
Eye Candy
https://twitter.com/PaintYourDragon/status/915681362195103744
This pet project from Phil Burgess is completely changing how people are doing eyes in cosplay. Rich, deep animated eyes are now possible fairly painlessly using a raspberry pi, a fancy bonnet for it, and a slew of different display options. I’ve seen tiny ones and giant ones. I can’t wait to see them in person.
XT Synth
Both musical and visually appealing, the XT synth will please your eyes and ears simultaneously. This is a midi instrument that you play like a guitar, and in this video it evokes the early days of Vangelis in my mind.
Uncovering Silicon
Our wonderful friends at Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories are going to be shedding light on the insides of your gadgets. They’re uncovering chips, laying them bare, and letting you peep at them through microscopes.
Blind Arduino Project
Dr. Joshua Miele will be back showing off the advances in accessible hacking that he’s been working on. Developing projects with a visual impairment can be quite difficult but these tools are making a difference.
Tentris
How do you make Tetris better? Make it BIGGER. Play a game of tetris on a 10 foot tall custom built display. Brought by folks from MakerHQ, this game also has an accompanying chiptune soundtrack that will surely keep spirits high, even if you can’t get past level 10.
One of the coolest parts of Maker Faire is the discovery. Though I’ve listed a few things that I know will be there, and be awesome, there are always surprises. You simply don’t know what you’re going to find until you’re there! Even when I get to read each and every entry form before the event, I’m still surprised by something that sounded unremarkable but shines in person.
Maker Faire Bay Area is happening May 18–20, 2018 San Mateo County Events Center.
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