[Noisebridge-discuss] Great Global Hackerspace Challenge - Who's on deck!?

Jake jake at spaz.org
Sun Mar 20 22:53:14 UTC 2011


Noisebridge has been accepted into the hackerspace challenge!  Our task is 
to create a device usable for Education which contains a microcontroller 
and a battery sourced from element14.  We are already winners, if we 
choose to accept this invitation and build a prototype device.

As you can read below, we have a $900 budget to build the prototype. 
There are obligations such as blog posts of our progress, and our 
participation at the Maker Faire.  There are deadlines for progress.

I have an idea for our device but I can NOT do this by myself.
If we can form a non-hierarchal team of builders, bloggers, solderers and 
code monkeys, we need to do that now and accept the invitation this week.

My idea (which was submitted as our entry to the challenge) is a device 
which can display accoustic or electromagnetic signals on a screen (or the 
screen of a computer perhaps?) including the accoustic audio spectrum, and 
the electromagnetic spectrum in several interesting bands including 
0-15KHz (electrical wires and such), AM radio band, FM radio band, 
cellphone band (around 900MHz) and deep-infrared, near-infrared, visible, 
and (hopefully) gamma radiation too.

If you can commit to being part of this team, after reading the schedule 
and commitments below, please respond both to the list and to me Jake.

I am hoping that the winner of this challenge will create a useful device 
for education of childrens around the world, and help kids understand 
their world and the electromagnetic spectrum better.

-jake

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Sun, 20 Mar 2011 14:20:21 -0700
From: Mitch Altman
To: Jake
Subject: Great Global Hackerspace Challenge

Hello Jake,

I received so many really great submissions for participation in the Great 
Global Hackerspace Challenge!The response was wonderful.I received submissions 
from South America, North America, Australia, Asia, and Europe. There are so 
many incredible hackerspaces around the world.

Then I had a big problem: I didn't know how to choose which hackerspaces could 
participate. I agonized over how to pick only 10 out of all the cool spaces who 
emailed me. How to choose? I was only given enough resources to pick 10. I got 
back to the folks at Element14, letting them know that it wouldn't be fair to 
exclude all but 10 of the hackerspaces. After only a short while, we all 
agreed, and the people at Element14 decided they would provide the resources 
for all submitting hackerspaces to participate!

*So, congratulations, your hackerspace is part of the Great Global Hackerspace 
Challenge!
*
/If you are still interested in participating, please email me as soon as you 
can and confirm. You will not be considered to be part of the Challenge until I 
receive your confirmation email.
/
_Here's a short summary of the Great Global Hackerspace Challenge_:
- Your hackerspace will create a project to help with education, using US$900 
(or equivalent) provided by Element14. The project must use a microcontroller 
and a portable power source.
- You have 6 weeks to complete your project, documenting your project as you 
go. All spaces that complete their project will receive 10 soldering setups.
- Three hackerspaces' projects will be chosen as finalists to present at the 
Grand Finale at the San Francisco Maker Faire. All three of these spaces will 
receive some really nice electronic test equipment. One person from each space 
will be flown out to present their project at the San Francisco Maker Faire 
over the weekend of 21-May & 22-May.
- One project will be chosen at the Grand Finale at the San Francisco Maker 
Faire to receive some extra goodies, including a very nice oscilloscope.

_In case you missed this in the above summary_:
The folks at Element14 also decided that it would be way cool to have a live 
presentation for each of the three finalists' projects at the San Francisco 
Maker Faire. So, they kicked in enough money to make that happen! Each of these 
three people will also be put up in their own hotel room. Start planning your 
trip to San Francisco now! :)

Below is a text-only version of the Participation Packet, which gives more 
details. Please read it over, and see if you have any questions.

I will also email you separately with a PDF version of the Participation 
Packet, which is 5.5MB. If you don't receive the PDF and would like it, please 
email me and I'll get it to you another way.

Shortly after I receive an email from you confirming that you want to be part 
of the Challenge, you will be contacted by Challenge organizers to schedule a 
phone call with your team. They would like these calls to occur between 
21-March and 24-March, depending on your availability.

Best of luck with your project!

Cheers,
Mitch.



*******************************
WELCOME
*******************************


Hello, and welcome to The Great Global Hackerspace Challenge, brought to you by 
the very excited folks over at element14!

You are one of thirty hackerspaces from across the globe who have been chosen 
to participate in this amazing event, which seeks to stretch your 
hackerspace-minded ingenuity to its very limit to create an electronics build 
that will make a real, and very positive difference in an educational 
establishment. And for you to have a whole lot of fun along the way!

Exactly what that build is, and what solution it provides is entirely down to 
you. The only stipulation is that your build must make use of a microcontroller 
and a portable power source. We encourage you to reach out to an educational 
institute in your area so that you can test your invention as it evolves, make 
sure you are answering a genuine educational need, and hopefully establish a 
home for your product once the challenge is over.

Within this pack, you'll find detailed information on the equipment element14 
will provide you with to get your creative thoughts flowing, and your talented 
hands building, as well as the low down on how to share your Hackerspace's 
ongoing progress with the world.

We'd also ask you make sure to read our Great Global Hackerspace Challenge Pact 
section, on which we are asking for a virtual handshake from you. It's our way 
of establishing mutual ground rules and understanding before the storm of 
genius activity begins.

We thank you once again for being a part of this incredible challenge, wish you 
the very best of luck, and look forward with great anticipation to seeing your 
work as it develops. This is a challenge in which brilliant minds collaborate 
so that everybody wins. Onwards!


*******************************
CHALLENGE GUIDELINES
*******************************

Outlined below is a step-by-step guide with all the information you will need 
to help make your hackerspace challenge as successful as possible. There's a 
great deal to do in a very short space of time, and so we have created a 
calendar of key delivery dates which you'll find at the end of this pack to 
help you stay on track.

If you have any questions along the way that aren't answered here, please email 
hackerspace at element14 dot com and we'll be sure to get back to you.



******************************
YOUR TOOL KIT
******************************

element14 is providing you with a budget of $900 US to complete your build. You 
will be contacted directly to establish exactly how you would prefer to receive 
this money. Your microcontroller and portable power source should be procured 
using this money, and any additional electronic components you might need can 
be purchased from the element14 store. Simply go to the element14 website 
(www.element14.com), click on the 'store' tab and then select your items using 
your $900 stipend. Your components will then be sent directly to you.

We ask that you try not add to this budget, as one of the judging criteria is 
based on the total cost of the final build, but you are fully permitted to use 
any components or items that you might already have at your hackerspace within 
your build. We challenge you to be as creative as you like!


******************************
DOCUMENTING YOUR BUILD
******************************

Core to this challenge is to produce an electronics build that will ultimately 
help education, but you can also start to help people learn about hackerspaces 
and electronics building along the way by regularly sharing information on your 
design. This is also how the judging panel will be able to track your progress 
and pick the three semi-finalists, and a minimum of one weekly update is a 
mandatory element of the challenge.

Please feel free to share all your exciting moments as they happen, but as a 
guideline, content that would be useful for you to provide would be:

Week 1
- Introduce your team (video would be a great way to do this), explain your 
hackerspace's philosophy, and provide a top level summary of your first week
Week 2
- Provide a basic outline of the materials you will be using in your build and 
any key challenges you anticipate
Week 3
- Provide an update on the status of your build and quick summary of obstacles 
encountered and how they are being addressed
Week 4
- Is everything going to plan? Perhaps provide footage of a visit to an 
educational institution you're working with
Week 5
- In your penultimate week provide a review of the challenge to date. Is the 
pressure on? What have you learned?
Week 6
- This is the time to really showcase your build, why it works and what 
features make it stand out


*****************************
HOW TO SHARE
*****************************

You will be required to contribute to your profile page within the element14 
community. This is where you can upload your videos and photos and keep 
everyone informed via a written blog. You will be able to personalize the page 
so that your hackerspace's own unique character shines through. To do this, go 
to element14.com, click on ???Join Now??? if you are not already registered, 
using your Hackerspace name, and we will create your page for you.


****************************
BUILD CRITERIA
****************************

Our esteemed panel of judges will include luminaries from the worlds of 
technology and science, education and hackerspacing.

Following the completion of the build period, they will be judging each one on 
the criteria below in order to select three semi-finalists to attend the 
California Maker Faire for the grand finale on May 22.

Semi-finalists will be notified personally by Mitch on May 6.

Criteria:
- How reproducible is the final project
- How easily can the parts be sourced in locations around the world
- How low cost is the final output
- How well are the plans documented
- How relevant is the project to helping education today
- How inventive and creative is the design and build of the project


*****************************
THE MAKER FAIRE GRAND FINALE
*****************************

The Great Global Hackerspace Challenge will culminate in a live demonstration 
of each of the three semi-finalists in front of the panel of judges at the San 
Mateo Maker Faire. One team member from the final three hackerspaces will be 
flown out to California to attend the Faire and present their build. Air fare, 
hotel accommodation and daily food costs will all be covered by element14 - 
we'll provide more detail on this if you are selected.

In the spirit of collaboration over competition, and to thank you for taking 
part, element14 will be sending you a set of soldering equipment, including a 
soldering station, for your hackerspace once you have completed the challenge.

Each of the semi-finalist hackerspaces will receive the following prizes:

- Fluke 233 DMM (worth US$300)
- Fluke 381 Clamp Meter (worth US$500)
- Tektronix PWS4205 Power Supply (worth US$865)
- Agilent HH DMM (specific model TBD)

Finally, the build chosen to have that extra sprinkling of hackerspace magic 
will receive a suitably rocking prize: a Tektronix MSO2024 oscilloscope (worth 
around US$5,600). Start clearing a space in the corner of your hackerspace now!


********************************************
THE GREAT GLOBAL HACKERSPACE CHALLENGE PACT
********************************************

You won't find any legal language here. We promise. The purpose of this section 
is to let you know that if, for any reason you are unable to finish your 
project you should let the organizers know as soon as possible. Particularly if 
you encounter circumstances beyond your control. We need to be able to manage 
expectations so we can accommodate the logistics of the event; judging, the 
Maker Faire event and the management of the content on the community.

This isn't a contract. You won't be signing your life away. We trust you. We 
simply want to have the best competition possible.

To quote the 1989 MGM classic 'Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure' we want 
everyone involved in this event to 'Be excellent to each other'. And that works 
full circle. We are investing funds into your builds and you are investing your 
valuable time and energy into our challenge. In the spirit of transparency and 
collaboration we want everyone to succeed and get as much as they can from this 
project however we reserve the right to withhold product and stipend if groups 
do not deliver on the requirements of the challenge. We will be in close 
communication throughout this project and, we can all work together to avoid 
any adverse situations.


*****************************
CHALLENGE KEY DATES CALENDAR
*****************************

- Week of 3/21 : Official Challenge Briefing / Q+A
- 3/25: Deadline to create your profile and submit your first blog update
- 4/1: Deadline for Hackerspace Challenge Blog Post 2
- 4/15: Deadline for Hackerspace Challenge Blog Post 3
- 4/30: End of build time
- 05/01- 05/05: Judging period
- 05/06: 3 semi-finalists will be announced
- Week Of 5/16: One team member from each of the three semi-finalist 
hackerspaces will travel to San Francisco Bay Area
- 5/21/22: Maker Faire
- 5/22: Maker Faire Great Global Hackerspace Challenge Grand Finale
- 5/23: Team members travel home



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