A point of pilgrimage for seekers of all sorts, through the efforts of Maker Faire Galicia‘s forward thinking producers, makers, and innovators Santiago de Compostela looks as much toward the future as into the past. This coming weekend, November 23-25, the UNESCO World Heritage site will host its 4th Maker Faire, largest program of makers yet, and with it, Jornada Industria 4.0 — a conference dedicated to connecting innovative makers with industry. You can check out the program on the website. As Matilde Rodriguez states of their intentions:
We serve as a platform to publicize projects that do not have adequate dissemination and we also generate a professional network where collaborative projects arise. In the field of education, the impact is very great as well, being advisors in the creation of a new branch of study in schools.
Moving steadily forward in their mission to match makers and innovators, for their 4th year, organizers — Enrique and Marcos Saavedra of Vermis Lab and Matilde Rodriguez of O Gato Cosmico — have continued to refine the event as they settle into their stunning venue: the Gaiás Centre Museum at the City of Culture of Galicia. An architectural marvel by Eisenman Architects (NYC) that houses a complex of cultural buildings designed to look like the surrounding hilly landscape and inspired by the symbol of Santiago de Compostela: the scallop shell.
The official video from 2017, Maker Faire Galicia’s first year in its new venue in the center of Santiago de Compostela, captures the unique feels of this event perched on the Western edge of Spain.
With over 40 exhibits and more makers than ever before, here’s a taste of some of the inspiring exhibits on offer this year. Here’s a list of prize winners coming.
Hand Solo
David Aguilar will speak about the journey that lead him to develop his Lego prosthesis. His passion for Lego and his desire to excel lead him, at 18 years of age, to create the first complete articulated arm from the pieces of a LEGO toy helicopter.
“When I move the arm, the hand opens and closes, which allows me to pick up light objects and also flex it,” he explains.
The arm was baptized as the MK1, which would later be followed by the MK2 made from a Lego airplane. The MK-II is a more advanced model that includes a battery that allows you to automate movements and load heavier objects. Here’s a look at MK-II for some perspective on his process.
The MK3, made from a Lego crane of more than 4,000 pieces, will be on show at Maker Faire Galicia.
Julián Caro Linares
Roboticist and educator Julián Caro Linares will explain and demonstrate how to make bio-inspired robots–from the functioning of the animals’ nervous system–and how to imitate them using free FPGAs. Passionate about the maker movement, free culture and the integration of robotics in society, he jokes that his dream is
“to create a robot that wants to end humanity, be destroyed in the past, and return from the future reprogrammed to save it.”
Materiom
Materiom is an international digital platform that aims to allow everyone, everywhere, to participate in the next generation of materials. An international team of designers, material scientists, and engineers, Materiom’s mission is to share “Nature’s Recipe Book” in an Open Source way: Making available a broad range of materials that use, primarily accessible and natural ingredients, such as beet, sage , turmeric, agar agar, algae or coffee beans. The simplicity and accessibility of their recipes allows anyone to create plastics and compounds in their own kitchen, FabLab or Makerspace and process them to their liking and necessity. Materiom will offer two workshops where you can become a maker of materials.
Portrait Painter Robot
Fresh from its debut at Maker Faire Barcelona, JV Salatino’s Portrait Painter Robot is a dream of many years come to life. Considering theories of color, an understanding oil paint as a medium, software, and Cartesian mechanics, this modified XY plotter prototype creates painted images in Tempura paint. Here’s a cheat sheet on how it’s done.
PsicoVR
PsicoVR wants to change the way you see the world. This award winning project features software developed for VR glasses and is intended for the psychological treatment of phobias, stress or panic. It helps patients face their fears while they do it in a safe and controlled context. CEO Lucía Maneiro and CTO Rafael Tourón discuss the genesis of their idea after a close call.
RT: A very close personal experience with one of my children who had a terrible fear of dogs. From there we tried to develop scenarios where we could calibrate a bit the size of the dog and the breed to expose the child gradually to that situation. Our surprise was that after two days the dog already had a name, it was already his official pet and we noticed a tremendous behavior change in the street with the dogs.
Glassear
Augment your world! Glassear aka Bruno Moya, a 17 year old developer and maker of a Google-assistant powered Smart Mirror, makes $20 (affordable) holographic (mixed reality) headsets.
Here’s an interview (in Spanish) with Bruno at Maker Faire Barcelona 2018:
Fablab Xtrene Almendralejo
Nerdy Derby is coming to Maker Faire Galicia! Hailing from Badajoz, Fablab Xtrene will bring the ever delightful interaction to Galicia’s young and old alike.
Recycling for 3D printing
Nacho Porto Cerámica
Creativity and the search for a form of personal expression are at the heart of Nacho Porto‘s work, together with the learning and development of a variety of different techniques. With 30 years of experience as a ceramicist–has been making ceramics in the village of Cornido since 1979–he makes not only usable, everyday items, but has generations of odd creatures under his wing. Among his notable works are playful ceramic speaker docks for mobile devices.
Everything you need to know to attend and explore the event is on the website and usual channels: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. Come join the community!
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