Project ideas

[Verzyi]

Anyone who has any short or long-term ideas post down small or large just fingered this form needed some design collaboration.

[Erik_L]

One project that I want to undertake is building a open source book scanner.
http://www.diybookscanner.org/
I like the software and philosophy behind this one, I totally think the new kit is overpriced and that we could get away with building it ourselves like they did we the pre-kit versions.

[adam_b]

The book scanner idea seems pretty cool...

Some other ideas that were discussed informally at the Tuesday meetings:

- A tools inventory tracking system that lets you find tools (or other items) within the makerspace. This works by attaching an RFID tag to each item you want to track, and placing readers at various static locations, like shelves and cabinets. The concept isn't new, but the challenge is finding the right kind of reader that can properly read multiple tags in similar proximity. To find an item, you'd enter a search term in a browser and it would tell you where it is within the space.

- Inspired by the , a machine that simulates the finances of a non-profit (like a makerspace) using colored water to represent money flowing through the system, and clear plastic tanks representing sources of income, expenses, programs/projects that require funding, and the bank account. The flow between tanks is controlled by valves and small electric pumps. It can be used as another promotional donation-accepting method: Attach a bill/coin acceptor, put money in and watch it "flow". This machine would have a similar footprint as the Jacob's ladder. This would be quite challenging and is an opportunity to work with a series of tubes.

[Erik_L]

Wow that sounds like a great idea.

Another thought might be to use LED bars.