CCHS GGHC: https://www.element-14.com/community/groups/challengedownunder

The  Connected Community HackerSpace (http://hackmelbourne.org) was surprised and pleased to be accepted as part of the Great Global  Hackerspace Challenge.  Over the last couple of years, we’ve created a  number of group electronics projects, particularly for the Linux  Conference Australia (one day Arduino mini-conference).  The GGHC is a  great opportunity to focus our attention on a project with a fast 6 week turn-around to deliver a tangible result.

Meet the Team!

After a good response to a call out to the general CCHS mail list, we assembled the following team ...

  - Paul Zee (@paulzee) - Team coordinator, design review, documentation & blog updates.
  - Luke Weston (@lukeweston) - Hardware design, build.
  - Andy Gelme  (@geekscape) - Software, design review.

  - Marc Alexander - Hardware design, review, fabrication.
  - GeorgeP, StuartY - Design input, review, build, documentation.
  - AntoinetteC, MitchD, BerndW - Design input, review.

Other hackerspace members to help out core team with build and test as available.

We've also enlisted some input from likely target audience.

Progress this week

We got off to a good start, with lots of concurrent activity on different concerns ...
   - Projects: Three suitable candidate projects proposed (see below)
      - we reviewed in detail the primary candidate project, and team gave feedback on design.
      - we discussed the secondary candidates.
   - Requirements: we contacted an education institution, and engaged a teacher for input/ review. 
   - Design: we began working through common design ideas.
     - we discussed and loosely agreed general design principals.
     - we started work on design for portable power.
   - Project plan: we outlined our approach, key milestones and tasks for next 5 weeks

Having  undertaken a few similar short time-frame projects before, we spent a  bit of time outlining our overall approach. A few key points from that  discussion:

  - Project outcome discussion with high-school teaching staff (validation)

  - Lead time on hardware design … do it early

  - Main PCB (now) and pluggable peripherals (later) … allows some iterative design and build

  - Explore unfamiliar requirements early (low power/ portable power, new components: LCD, charging IC)

  - Software development and packaging concurrently whilst waiting for hardware PCB and BOM delivery

  - Early field testing/ validation in final week(s) with high-school students (target audience)

Rough Milestones for next week

For week two, we’ll be focused on:

     - Review project schedule, Project capabilities -> Hardware main components & PCB design

     - Final hardware main PCB design freeze

     - PCB artwork ready for review prior to PCB fabrication
    - Prepare hardware BOM (at least main items for costing)
    - Software and peripheral discussion

Project Outlines

Three good project candidates were proposed …

  - ArduinoLab:  General lab experiment tool that is tolerant of user error and performs  basics functions, such as measuring voltage, frequency, generating  waveforms. With user interface input controls and display.

  - Pebble  V2: A combined Arduino and Shield that provides user interface input  controls and display,  some sensor inputs, a relay and mesh networking.

http://www.hackmelbourne.org/wiki/index.php/Pebble

  - USB  Doodad: A surface-mount tutorial that provides a low cost AVR micro  controller with software USB stack and an array of LEDs for simple  projects, such as persistence of vision.

            http://www.hackmelbourne.org/wiki/index.php/Doodad

A few other projects were proposed, but we decided that the world wasn’t ready for them yet !

  - Teacher-B-Gone  - On the element14 web-site, we found an inexpensive quantum tunnel  generator and combined with the famous TV-B-Gone project ... we’re  certain that this device would be popular with students.

  - Student  Alarm Clock - Custom Arduino firmware ensures that this clock will  never accept an alarm time before 11 am in the morning.  Perfect !

  - Rock  God/dess - Beagle Board running real-time audio transformation software  ensures that even the most unskilled electric guitar player can impress  their friends.

  - One  of our hackers has built a Flux Capacitor (http://twitpic.com/4e8ohc) …  so all we need to do now is make a Mr.Fusion.  Of course, students  would need to supply their own Delorean.

  - EduClicker  Clicker - Labor saving device that automatically clicks an EduClicker  on behalf of the student and prevents Repetitive Strain Injury.

  - Rail Gun - The experimental possibilities are too many to mention.

Happy Hacking from the Connected Community HackerSpace (Melbourne)