BLOG-O-MATIC
Category: Cornell University
Reporting In from the 2012 Open Hardware Summit and World Maker Faire
I just got back from the 3rd annual Open Hardware Summit and World Maker Faire. It’s been a whirlwind week of robots, 3D Printers, inspiring talks, education, networking and more. I’m excited to share all the details!
Open Sourcing the LibeTech QR Code Lock System
A few months ago I developed a beaglebone-based QR Code door lock system. Check into a room online, and a QR code is sent to your phone to act as your key. Just hold it up to the door! I’m releasing this project under an open source license so you can build it yourself.
Light-Up Mortar Board. Because I can.
This was one of those “Why Not?” moments. While sitting at dinner with family and friends the night before my graduation commencement, somebody mentioned that a light up Mortar Board would be really cool. Realizing that I had all the parts necessary to make one in my apartment, I went[…]
HelioWatcher – An Automated Solar Tracking and Analytics Platform
The HelioWatcher is an automatic sun-tracking solar panel capable of performing long-term solar analytics for developing efficient solar panel deployments.
Speaking at the White House Young America Series
Recently, I had the privilege to speak at Syracuse University as part of a speaker series for young Americans promoting social change. In this White House-sponsored event, I spoke about the work I did to develop Cornell University Sustainable Design, and how we’ve used interdisciplinary collaboration to further our goals.
The Future of 3D Printing
It’s no secret that I’m excited about 3D printing. I work on Cornell’s Personal Printer, the Fab@Home, I own two MakerBot printers, and I’ve worked for MakerBot, designing electronics for their open-source 3D printers. In this local news story on 3D printing, I talk about how the technology is advancing.
Pop In and Start Up at the PopShop!
I recently helped found a new space at Cornell to promote collaborative entrepreneurship, hacking, and start-up incubation. This one-month experiment is called “The PopShop.”
CUSD Pulls in Some Major Grants and Meets with Rick Fedrizzi (President/CEO of the US Green Building Council)
My fellow Cornell Sustainable Design team leaders and I recently met with Rick Fedrizzi, President of the US Green Building Council. We also won a $10,000 geothermal research grant, and a $1000 grant from Cornell’s Engineering Alumni Association.
Teaching about Electricity & Chemistry at the USS Intrepid Museum in NYC
This weekend, other members of Cornell University Sustainable Design and I, were invited to the USS Intrepid museum to teach kids about electricity using potato batteries, and molecular chemistry using gumdrop-and-toothpick models.
Machine Metabolism Robot Meets the World
I recently released a video demonstration of the autonomous structure reconfiguring “metabolic machine” that I designed along with Franz Nigl, Shuguang Li, and Hod Lipson in Cornell’s Creative Machines Lab. The paper will be published in IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine soon.