Make: Online: Interviews Archives

Archive: Interviews

October 23, 2009

ReadyMade's interview with Doug Repetto

Katherine Sharpe at ReadyMade did an interview with Doug Repetto, founder of Dorkbot, Artbots, and the director of Columbia U's Computer Music Center, focusing on how he got where he is today.

October 20, 2009

Interview with MakerBot owner Andrew Plumb

Andrew Plumb is a really active member of the MakerBot community, and there's a nice interview with him about his experiences up on the MakerBot blog. I'm writing a piece about MakerBot for Make: 21, and found his story particularly interesting.

I was fortunate to be going through university in the early ’90s right when Linux was making the rounds – Math and Engineering, Control and Communications Systems program at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario. (Cool! There wasn’t a Control and Robotics option back then.) That box of a hundred-odd 3.5″ floppies landed on my desk and I was plunged into the second emerging wave of Open Source software – the first being the BSD origins of UNIX. With healthy wiki, forum, google group and twitter extended participation (to name a few channels), the RepRap+MakerBot+Thingiverse projects feel like they could be leading a third wave of open source innovation and community.

September 26, 2009

Cigar box prototyping at Maker Faire RI

The other night at Maker Faire Rhode Island, I met up with Raphael. He had brought along these neat prototyping kits made from cigar boxes. I asked him about why he made them and what he does with these mobile prototyping platforms.

You may also want to check out Raphael's Twitchie kit, which people were passing around like mutant babies. Very disturbing indeed.

In the Maker Shed:

Arduino Family

Make: Arduino

September 7, 2009

Throwie bending jig

The other day Jimmie was making throwies at the Pawtucket Arts Festival. He had a neat little jig that helped make the process quicker and more effective. After his roll of tape ran out, he was able to help people keep on making festive blinky tricolor LED throwies. He helped people make a LOT of them.

Jimmie will be helping facilitate soldering and circuit bending workshops at Maker Faire Rhode Island.

September 3, 2009

The mechanical puzzles of Bram Cohen

Last weekend I bumped into puzzle maker Bram Cohen at Make HQ, where we had the opportunity to check out some of his amazing mechanical puzzles and talk a bit about the various processes with which they are made (please excuse the A/V quality of my mobile).

One of the tools Bram uses to make these mind bending objects is a piece of software called Burr Tools. It's a 3D design program that builds puzzles out of basic units. Puzzles created with Burr Tools can be exported to an STL shape file that can be printed on a 3D printer.

Bram also showed off a prototype he designed that was milled from hardwood by a friend on their woodworking mill.

We also get to see Bram's first commercial puzzle. It's called "Cast Marble" by Hanayama. It's a captive marble inside a block. Both the marble and block are composed of cast metal segments that twist and turn into each other.

July 5, 2009

Monthly best of Make: en Español

Fabricación de modelos navales con partes reutilizadas

Se buscan Makers

Jordi Muñoz, orgulloso Maker mexicano

Arte Rupestre - (English)

Tagtool en Cholula - (English)

Mini generador eléctrico con motor de CD

More:

Make: en Español

June 28, 2009

Heads on Fire at Maker Faire

Heads on Fire hosted the Bay Area Maker Faire Fab Lab. At Maker Faire Austin, the Fab Lab has been hosted by the Boston Fab Lab at the South End Technology Center. Wikipedia has a decent list of the various Fab Labs around the world.

June 14, 2009

Aquaponic education and the Sun Curve

Megan Simmons of ISKME tells us about the Sun Curve Design Challenge. OERCommons is a place where they are storing and sharing educational resources about the Sun Curve and other educational projects. The structure and systems were designed by INKA Biosperic Systems. You might also check out her photos of the project at Maker Faire.

June 13, 2009

Bilal explains Instructables

Bilal has been hanging out with the Instructables folks for a while. When I bumped into him at Maker Faire, he was typically animated as he told me about what they do there.

June 1, 2009

Persistence of flash memory vest

Jonathan works for a company that makes promotional USB drives. There may have been a few lying around to stir up his answer to the question "What am I going to wear to Maker Faire?"

May 15, 2009

MAKE Editor Mark F. on The Martha Stewart Show this Monday

UPDATE:
The Martha Stewart Show has now added the entire episode in their Archive. Enjoy!

http://tinyurl.com/oyelyr

At the beginning of April I was lucky enough to go to New York City to help Mark Frauenfelder, editor-in-chief of MAKE, prepare for his appearance on The Martha Stewart Show!

The show was taped on April 1st, and will finally air this coming Monday, May 18. You can see a quick preview by clicking here, and then clicking on Monday's show at the top.

On an insider's note, being at the studio and taping the show was fun and exciting. The amount of lights, cameras, tools, and other accoutrements was mind-boggling. All the staff were friendly and helpful and very, very competent at what they do.

Even when some of our projects were lost for several hours in transit, everyone was calm, cool, and collected. I, on the other hand, started to run down 20+ blocks, from Midtown to Chelsea, desperately trying to figure out where we were going to find a cigar box, an old VCR, an electric screwdriver, and some lumber at 6 p.m. on a Monday in Manhattan.

Dress rehearsal with the producer and Mark Frauenfelder; the teleprompter proudly displays the MAKE name!

But no need for alarm; the projects were found and worked great on camera, Mark did a fantastic job describing and demoing the projects, and then for the finale, he and Martha made little vibrating robots out of a candy tin, a paperclip, and a motor from a Dollar Store fan. The audience seemed to like it, the staff liked it, and Martha kept one afterward, so I'm guessing she liked it!

Don't forget to watch or DVR Monday's Martha show! Yay, Mark!

May 14, 2009

iPhone Hacks webcast

The authors of iPhone Hacks will be having a webcast Friday, May 15, 2009 at 10am PDT.

Register here to participate in this live event.

This webcast will focus on the last two chapters of iPhone Hacks, involving hardware and software development. We'll focus on some of the hardware and software development you can do without having to go through the app store, for personal or jailbreak community release. You'll learn various ways to get hardware connected to the iPhone, without having to go through the 3.0 approval process. We'll include several specific hacks on how to connect keyboards and serial devices to the phone.

May 5, 2009

Kate Hartman interview

Check out this cool interview with wearable technology guru and Botanicalls co-creator Kate Hartman by Dave Caputo. Via Fashioning Technology.

May 2, 2009

Teaching open problem solving with Scratch

Alex has been using Scratch to teach problem solving and programming with kids.
Here is the balancing cat.sb file. Here is Alex's solution.sb.

You will need a copy of the free program Scratch. Try it out, post your results on the Scratch site, and let us know what you think.

April 25, 2009

Prepping for Waves and Signs

Alex and Bilal have been working on creating their part of a concert with no sound.

Waves and Signs: A conference and workshop on low-frequency vibration with a performance and dance party. _
A project by Wendy Jacob with students and faculty from MIT and Gallaudet University, school for the deaf.

Photo from Connors934 on Flickr

If you are looking for an exciting sensory perception tonight, head on over to CAVS!

Acting as a silent speaker, a raised floor at MIT's Center for Advanced Visual Studies will be activated to insert low-frequency vibrations into the space of architecture. The floor will be used alternately as a platform, instrument, and stage for an event in three parts.
In the first part, the floor will be used as a platform on which to hold a dialog (in speech and sign) between artists, designers, scientists and students. In the second part, the floor will be used as an instrument in a workshop on resonant vibrations. In the third part, the floor will become a stage for performances and a silent dance party. This project is part of an investigation of the politics of experience.

April 7, 2009

DIY for CHI wrap-up

Sunday's DIY workshop at CHI 2009 was a great time, with a thoughtful mix of academia and hands-on projects. DIY for CHI was a workshop presented at the CHI2009 conference in Boston. We had a chance to meet and greet important people who are teaching and studying the arts of creating computer interfaces with students and other participants. There were productive discussions about creating data collecting systems, opportunities to grow the academic side of the DIY movement, and the pleasures and pitfalls of living with DIY practitioners. Demonstrations included creating wearable input devices, making RFID sensing units, making fabric out of plastic bags, circuit bending, a site visit to the Boston Fab Lab and more.

As a followup for the workshop, dorkbot boston has created a get together at the MIT Media Lab:

Dorkbot: DIY for CHI What: Dorkbot: DIY for CHI Methods, Communities, and Values of Reuse and Customization When: Tuesday 7 April 2009 7:00 PM Where: Bartos theater, Lower Level, at the MIT Media Lab (building E15 on the MIT campus) map Cost: Free! Open to everyone!

Check it out and bring your ideas for building community around DIY in education, and society.

March 22, 2009

US FIRST regional competitions

A few weekends ago I had the chance to check out the Northeast regionals for USFIRST in Boston. Above, Matt and Chris of Blackstone Valley Regional Vocational Technical High School, Team 61 tell about being involved.

Here is a segment of one round of the competition:

Norwell High School has a great robotics program mentored by teachers Ross Kowalski and Mark Herman.

Could you tell us some of your experiences with USFIRST or other engineering competitions? Add your thoughts in the comments and please contribute your photos and video to the MAKE Flickr pool.

March 7, 2009

Fetch: reality game show with kids

Marcy Gunther is the producer of Fetch! with Ruff Ruffman, a reality game show featuring a Host Dog and six real life kids as contestants. Ruff always seems to have something going wrong in the doghouse, and he has the kids help him learn about how to solve the problem with science and engineering.

Have you or your kids seen Fetch? What do your kids think of Make:TV? What are some of the best shows on tv to help kids become more creative and competent? How can adults cultivate kids' interest in science and technology? Join the conversation in the comments, and contribute your photos and video to the MAKE Flickr pool.

January 9, 2009

Interview with Freeman Transport

Selectism did an interview with American commuter bike makers Freeman Transport on the importance of feeling the hand of the maker in their product (bikes). It's all around inspiring!

...We wanted people to know how important it is for us to support US manufacturing and the lack thereof. If things continue to go the direction they are going, we could potentially have no products made in America. I think it is important for us to take control of that. I see that Jeff Staple has produced a line of button down shirts made in New York. Steven Allen makes some clothing in New York. Freeman Sporting Club makes most of their clothing in New York. Band of Outsiders, Thom Brown, Engineered Garments. I just saw that Huf did a bunch of his cut and sew in America. So that's really nice. That's not to say we don't see both sides of the conversation and recognize the challenges and limitations. I mean after all, there are certain things that just can't be made here anymore.

Via Core77.

January 2, 2009

Takira shows the thermistor

Thermistors are pretty cool little items. They convert heat into resistance. By having the temperature available as resistance, you can use the value to control other things like circuits and programs. Photo cells do the same thing with light, and they are in lots of common devices from night lights to dimmers on clock radios.

How could you use a thermistor with your shiny new Arduino? What could you measure with a thermistor? Have you got any videos like this where somebody demonstrates an interesting device? This video came from a summer youth program in Boston. Does your community have a similar opportunity for teenagers to learn incredible things and work on neat projects? Show your ideas in the comments, and iinclude your photos and video in the Make Flickr pool.