Playing with Oculus Rift

The Oculus Rift is a Virtual Reality headset which enables the wearer to get full stereoscopic vision in a 3D environment along with real time head tracking. The manufacturer describes it as “a next-generation virtual reality headset designed for immersive gaming.”

Last night before the biweekly Lock Picking meet-up, I (Sean Nicholls) brought in my newly acquired Oculus Rift developer edition to Tog and offered anyone who wanted an opportunity to play with it.

I should also say that an invite was sent out on the Tog Mailing list, which if you’re not already subscribed to, you should be! or else who knows what kind of cool stuff you might be missing out on!

Enough of me blathering on, here’s some photos of it in-action:

photo 3

photo 1

RTÉ Documentary on Tog Lock Pickers

IMG_0094
Ronan Kelly of RTÉ’s Curious Ear featured the Lock Picking group on RTÉ Radio 1:

Every other Tuesday, the group meets to pick locks. They have a table full of, mostly, padlocks and they use their picking tools to try to open those padlocks.Some of the padlocks are simple three pin ones, while others are the more challenging five-pin ones with extra ‘security’ pins.

Some of the locks have names and initials on them. These are locks that were put on the Ha’penny Bridge in Dublin by couples eager to display their lasting love.

You can listen to the full 12 minute feature on RTÉ’s website.

GaelHack recap

And now we have a (wonderfully detailed) guest post from Jon on what we got up to at GaelHack last June.

In January of this year discussion started on the Irish hackerspace mailing list about the feasibility of holding the first hackerspace conference in Ireland. Hacker camps and conferences around the world have become a great way for the community to exchange ideas through talks and workshops, usually over the course of a few days where attendees are encouraged to help create a hacker village through staying overnight within or around the conference, which helps to create a vibrant and fun atmosphere for all.

A few dates and venues were discussed online as well as deciding on a name for the conference. A few names were in the running but eventually the event was named GaelHack and after reconnaissance visits by some hackerspace members to potential venues Mount Melleray Scout centre County Waterford was eventually chosen. This venue checked quite a few boxes for the event. For one thing accommodation was exceptionally cheap both onsite and in the nearby hotel. Also the venue contains numerous rooms and hallways ideal for hosting different workshops. Finally with it being a scouting centre there was of course a campsite right beside it.

Continue reading “GaelHack recap”

Workshop: Multithreaded servers in Java

This intermediate workshop will focus on teaching people to build a basic multi-threaded server and learning to work with data in a multi-threaded environment. This will be a very hand-on workshop with an open discussion throughout on different server models, sockets & IO, throughput, threads and data-management. The focus of the workshop is get people to build their own server in Java before the end of the session with help and demonstration provided. The workshop will require proficiency in Java and a solid understanding of OO-concepts.

Pre-requisites: The workshop will require proficiency in Java and a solid understanding of OO-concepts. Attendees must also bring a laptop with JDK & Eclipse IDE (optional) set up and configured.

When: Thursday, September 19th. From 7pm till 10pm.

Cost: €8 for non-members, free for members.

Please sign up using the form below. This workshop is kindly taught by Nik. All proceeds go to support Tog (as usual).

Continue reading “Workshop: Multithreaded servers in Java”

LilyPad Workshop

LilyPad Arduino Microcontroller
LilyPad Arduino Microcontroller
Think about a coat that detects changes in air and body temperature and automatically adjusts to keep you comfortable. How about a sonar based device enabling you to see in the dark? Or always having your music player, video player, radio, and mobile phone with you wherever you go because they are built into your tshirt? eTextiles, electro-craft, wearable electronics; it’s about taking technology and transforming it around your body, creating symbiosis. Whether you’re looking to augment the human condition with technology or you’re more interested in the romantic ethereal glow of twinkly lights, you have to start somewhere.

In this short series of workshops we will provide a quick introduction to the Arduino Lilypad line of wearable electronics. We’ll look at how to tell the micro-controller (the smart component) what to do, and how to use some sensors and actuators*. And then how to put it all together into an actual, wearable, project.

Taking place one evening a week, for three weeks, we hope to introduce you to a new passion that combines electronics, programming, and crafting. Sound scary? The only pre-requisite is that you have a laptop (with USB port) you can bring to the workshops. We’ll help you with all the rest.

*components that do something, e.g. a buzzer makes a sound

Continue reading “LilyPad Workshop”

Craft Night quilt at MakerFaire2013

Dublin Mini Maker Faire logo Dublin Mini Maker Faire 2013 has come and gone. We’ve been recapping a few of the projects displayed at the event, like the Bubble Bird House, and the Twitter Knitter. The Craft Nighters* got in on the action as well, and contributed squares towards a patchwork quilt. The type of squares is varied, including crochet, hand knit, machine knit, embroidery, blackwork, patchwork (meta), and decorative uses of beads, buttons, and googly eyes. Rather than losing some of the detail by making them conform to a strict patchwork quilt, we instead chose a looser arrangement to better showcase the talent and variety of our dedicated crafters.

Crafters quilt at Maker Faire, with Twitter Knitter

* Craft Night happens every second Tuesday from 7pm. It’s free, and open to all crafts. Simply, people show up and work on their projects. It’s great having others around who can help you out if you get stuck/confused, or just to chat with (and find out the best crafting suppliers). Get in touch and come along!

Continue reading “Craft Night quilt at MakerFaire2013”