The Young Makers Program at Maker Faire Bay Area 2011 produced two interesting projects by Alex Jacobson, John Boyer, and Sam Frank. Saphira is an animatronic fire-breathing dragon, and Fire Jam is a visualization device for the Rock Band video game that selectively shoots five jets of flame that correspond to the buttons on the guitar controller.
Paul Freedman throws conscious hip hop concerts by turning alternative transportation into alternative energy. Rock the Bike brings funky beats and sound gear to any venue, then sets up stationary bikes that are converted into electricity generators. Audience members take turns pedaling to generate all the amplification needed for the entire show at Maker Faire Bay Area 2011.
John Schimmel teaches the Assistive Technology class at NYU’s ITP program. The RAMPs project allows a wheelchair-bound DJ to roll up to a stationary set of rollers that are connected to rotary encoders attached to an Arduino. The interpreted data is then sent to a Processing sketch and used to blend or scratch audio tracks in real time. This device was created in 2005 for an individual with cerebral palsy who had a talent for rapping and also needed to hone his wheelchair skills.
Entrepreneur Benny James runs Cool Neon, a Burning Man-inspired business supplying electroluminescent wire to artists and electronics makers. He has seen his business flourish as he enables costume makers, festival vehicle designers, and hobbyists to add bright light-up lines of color to their projects since 1999. At Maker Faire Bay Area 2011, they debuted their […]
Andrew Benson’s Praxis Zero guitars are modular frameworks for guitars that can have interchangeable bodies, and can have their specs easily changed to suit the needs of the player. All the parts are sculpted with a CNC router and were on display at Maker Faire Bay Area 2011.
Josh Billions demonstrates the Mapbag at Maker Faire Bay Area 2011. It is a bicycle messenger bag with a ring of vibrating motors sewn into its strap, whose positions correspond to compass points. This soft circuit project uses a Lilypad in conjunction with the gps feature in an Iphone, allowing the user to set a destination and be given constant haptic feedback through the fabric in order to stay on course and in the right direction. This acts as an exploratory wayfinding tool – a fun and useful alternative to a standard turn-by-turn map.
Addie and Stefan demonstrate Lasersaur at Maker Faire Bay Area 2011. Lasersaur is an open source laser cutter the team made after learning a laser cutter would be cost prohibitive for them personally. Using easily reproducible parts, the Lasersaur is intended to be built by other users and subsequently improved upon.
