Wednesday, August 20, 2014

Gold Coast Maker Faire - Hack'n Show

Waking up early on a rainy Saturday morning! That does not sound good, does it? But on the 16th August I was very excited to do so. It was the annual Gold Coast Science and Tech Fair where Gold CoastTechspace will be showcasing their hacks at their faire – Hack’n Show! I have already seen some gadgets at their workspace. But, this faire would be a great chance to see all the hacks they have made. Plus there was a competition for kids to show-off their talents in hacking. I had to catch the train from Brisbane at 7.00 as I was volunteering with the set-up of faire. I will try my best to give an account of the exhibits I have seen there.


Following couple of videos are snaps of a Rubik’s cube Solver and an auto closing switch. Unfortunately I haven’t found much information regarding them. There were some other interesting hacks as well (some of them will be at the end of the 2nd video).



Caroline was busy with a 'beacon' project. She managed to deploy some Bluetooth operated beacons near the exhibits. If you had an iPhone with a Bluetooth connection you were able to see descriptions of nearby exhibits through a mobile app. So you don’t have to disturb everyone around you for info! Smart idea!

A 3D printer was busy all the day printing some plastic objects. Mark was enthusisticly explaining all about 3D printers. Many people seem to be excited about the possibilities of 3D printing.


It was not easy to catch Steve and David who were busy with organizing things and it was a good crowd despite the rain. David told me that this faire is all about making awareness amongst the general public about the makers and encouraging them to hack. It certainly has inspired me. I am thinking of couple of hacks for my home. I am no technician. But I am willing to try out something. It was the ripe fruit of those try outs of hackers I saw at Hack’n Show.

I am keen to learn what motivates them in doing these hacks. What kind of difficulties they face and so on. All the lovely makers I met there agreed to talk more with me. I was also fortunate enough to meet the president of HSBNE which is the hackerspace of Brisbane whom I will catch for a coffee in few days.

I realize that this post is getting too long. I don’t want you to stress your fingers with too much scrolling. So, I will leave the details of the Hack’n Show competition to the next post. Despite the rain it was a shiny day for techos in Gold Coast. And an inspiring ray of light for those who attended there, including myself!

It was a shiny day!!!