Just like the garage computer explosion of the 70’s through the 80’s, which brought us such things as Apple, pong, Bill Gate’s hair, and the proliferation of personal computers, the maker movement is the new garage hardware explosion. Today, 135 million adults in the United States alone are involved in the maker movement.
Enthusiasts who want to build the products they want, from shortwave radios to personal computers, and to tweak products they’ve bought to make them even better, have long been a part of the electronics industry. By all measures, garage-style innovation remains alive and well today, as “makers” as they are called continue to turn out contemporary gadgets, including 3D printers, drones, and embedded electronics devices.
Making is about individual Do-It-Yourselfers being able to design and create with tools that were, as of a decade or two ago, only available to large, cash-rich corporations: CAD tools, CNC mills, 3D printers, low-quantity PCB manufacturing, open hardware such as Arduinos and similar inexpensive development boards – all items that have made it easier and relatively cheap to make whatever we imagine. For individuals, maker tools can change how someone views their home or their hobbies. The world is ours to make. Humans are genetically wired to be makers. The maker movement is simply the result of making powerful building and communication tools accessible to the masses. There are plenty of projects from makers that show good engineering: Take this Arduino board with tremendous potential, developed by a young maker, as example.
The maker movement is a catalyst to democratize entrepreneurship as these do-it-yourself electronics are proving to be hot sellers: In the past year, unit sales for 3D printing related products; Arduino units, parts and supplies; Raspberry Pi boards; drones and quadcopters; and robotics goods are all on a growth curve in terms of eBay sales. There are many Kickstarter maker projects going on. The Pebble E-Paper Watch raises $10 million. The LIFX smartphone-controlled LED bulb raises $1.3 million. What do these products have in common? They both secured funding through Kickstarter, a crowd-funding website that is changing the game for entrepreneurs. Both products were created by makers who seek to commercialize their inventions. These “startup makers” iterate on prototypes with high-end tools at professional makerspaces.
For companies to remain competitive, they need to embrace the maker movement or leave themselves open for disruption. Researchers found that 96 percent of business leaders believe new technologies have forever changed the rules of business by democratizing information and rewiring customer expectations. - You’ve got to figure out agile innovation. Maybe history is repeating itself as the types of products being sold reminded us of the computer tinkering that used to be happening in the 1970s to 1990s – similar in terms of demographics, tending to be young people, and low budget. Now the do-it-yourself category is deeply intertwined with the electronics industry. Open hardware is in the center in maker movement – we need open hardware designs! How can you publish your designs and still do business with it? Open source ecosystem markets behave differently and therefore require a very different playbook than traditional tech company: the differentiation is not in the technology you build; it is in the process and expertise that you slowly amass over an extended period of time.
By democratizing the product development process, helping these developments get to market, and transforming the way we educate the next generation of innovators, we will usher in the next industrial revolution. The world is ours to make. Earlier the PC created a new generation of software developers who could innovate in the digital world without the limitations of the physical world (virtually no marginal cost, software has become the great equalizer for innovation. Now advances in 3D printing and low-cost microcontrollers as well as the ubiquity of advanced sensors are enabling makers to bridge software with the physical world. Furthermore, the proliferation of wireless connectivity and cloud computing is helping makers contribute to the Internet of Things (IoT). We’re even beginning to see maker designs and devices entering those markets once thought to be off-limits, like medical.
Image source: The world is ours to make: The impact of the maker movement – EDN Magazine
In fact, many parents have engaged in the maker movement with their kids because they know that the education system is not adequately preparing their children for the 21st century. There is a strong movement to spread this DIY idea widely. The Maker Faire, which launched in the Bay Area in California in 2006, underlined the popularity of the movement by drawing a record 215,000 people combined in the Bay Area and New York events in 2014. There’s Maker Media, MakerCon, MakerShed, Make: magazine and 131 Maker Faire events that take place throughout the world. Now the founders of all these Makers want a way to connect what they refer to as the “maker movement” online. So Maker Media created a social network called MakerSpace, a Facebook-like social network that connects participants of Maker Faire in one online community. The new site will allow participants of the event to display their work online. There are many other similar sites that allow yout to present yout work fron Hackaday to your own blog. Today, 135 million adults in the United States alone are involved in the maker movement—although makers can be found everywhere in the world.
7,006 Comments
Tomi Engdahl says:
Bolt Bots – Micro Servo Droids
Minimal Hardware 4-5x servos + Wireless Control
https://hackaday.io/project/190291-bolt-bots-micro-servo-droids
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2023/05/25/adding-variometer-functionality-to-gps/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Glovraille: another braille Bluetooth keyboard
A prototype of a Bluetooth keyboard in form of glove for braille typing
https://hackaday.io/project/191199-glovraille-another-braille-bluetooth-keyboard
Tomi Engdahl says:
New Drug Has Potential As Dirty Bomb Antidote
https://hackaday.com/2023/05/25/new-drug-has-the-potential-as-dirty-bomb-antidote/
A Phase 1 clinical trial is currently underway to see if an oral drug is able to scour radioactive elements from the human body. The investigational compound is called HOPO 14-1, a chelating agent that has a high affinity for metals in the actinide series, which includes plutonium, uranium, thorium, and cerium.
Tomi Engdahl says:
ForkLocator
An AI-powered tool that indicate user to locate a fork on a table, providing directional guidance for visually impaired
https://hackaday.io/project/191209-forklocator
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2023/05/25/hackaday-prize-2023-hearing-sirens-when-drivers-cant/
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https://hackaday.com/2023/05/25/hacking-the-ikea-obegransad-led-wall-lamp/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Demagnetizing magnets and other things
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGK8oYdEqyE
How to (Re)Magnetize a Permanent Magnet
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S21rlwrY74I
Tomi Engdahl says:
Getting Into NMR Without The Superconducting Magnet
https://hackaday.com/2023/05/26/getting-into-nmr-without-the-superconducting-magnet/
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https://hackaday.com/2023/05/26/fly-like-you-drive-with-this-flying-rc-drift-car/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Generating Hydrogen Peroxide For Disinfecting Water Using A Solar-Driven Catalyst
https://hackaday.com/2023/05/26/generating-hydrogen-peroxide-for-disinfecting-water-using-a-solar-driven-catalyst/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2023/05/27/restoring-dot-matrix-printer-cartridges-for-2023/
Tomi Engdahl says:
A Bullet Time Video Booth You Can Build
https://hackaday.com/2023/05/27/a-bullet-time-video-booth-you-can-build/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2023/05/27/hack-simple/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Beepberry Brings Memory LCD And A Physical Keyboard To Your Pi
https://hackaday.com/2023/05/27/beepberry-brings-memory-lcd-and-a-physical-keyboard-to-your-pi/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Headset’s Poor Range Fixed By Replacing Antenna
https://hackaday.com/2023/05/27/headsets-poor-range-fixed-by-replacing-antenna/
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https://hackaday.com/2023/05/28/electronic-connect-4-console-doesnt-use-lcd/
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Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2023/05/29/macro-pad-cheap-enough-to-give-away/
Supercon 2022 showed that hackers are starting to come together again in Maker Faires, conventions, and festivals. [Toby Chui] plans to be one of those hackers and wants something to give to fellow attendees. Thus, the $3 Macro Pad was born.
We’ve seen our fair share of macro pads, so a simple four-key pad isn’t exactly novel. However, the focus on size and cost makes it stand out. The pad is the size of a business card, making it easy to give away. For a microcontroller, [Toby] used a CH552G, which is cheap and compatible with the Arduino IDE.
https://hackaday.io/project/190804-diy-3-single-chip-macro-keypad-from-scratch
Tomi Engdahl says:
Wear-a-Chorder + VoiceBox
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https://hackaday.io/project/191200-wear-a-chorder-voicebox
Tomi Engdahl says:
ASCIICHORD
Chorded keyboard to input texts almost directly in ASCII code
https://hackaday.io/project/191304-asciichord
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2023/05/29/open-source-ar-hack-chat/
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Tomi Engdahl says:
Hackaday Prize 2023: Scratch Made 8-Bit Educational Computer
https://hackaday.com/2023/05/29/hackaday-prize-2023-scratch-made-8-bit-educational-computer/
To demonstrate the functionality of an 8-bit computer processor at a very basic level, [Mazen Gomaa] assembled a Homemade 8-Bit Educational Computer using common CMOS logic chips, a handful of prototyping boards, and an impressive number of carefully connected wires. [Mazen] was inspired by Ben Eater’s 8-bit TTL Breadboard Computer but opted to solder the chips and other components onto proto boards instead of using solderless breadboards.
The 8-Bit computer is based on the Simple-As-Possible (SAP) computer architecture described in the book “Digital Computer Electronics” by [Paul Malvino] and [Jerald Brown].
https://hackaday.io/project/190760-8bit-educational-computer
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Musical Robot Lets You Play The Recorder Hands-Free
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Tomi Engdahl says:
Hackaday Prize 2023: EyeBREAK Could Be A Breakthrough
https://hackaday.com/2023/05/30/hackaday-prize-2023-eyebreak-could-be-a-breakthrough/
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