#hackstb. June 2012
Yesterday, we had our 3rd #hackstb event. We had some great demos.
First up was Tim and Hendrik, demoing a coffee measurement tool. Their problem: The coffee machine was 50m away and they couldn’t see if there was any coffee in the pot. So at first, they hooked up a webcam to the coffee pot, so they could check from a website. The problem with this was, was that you couldn’t measure the age of the coffee. So they hooked into the current of the coffee machine to determine when was the last time it was turned on/used. Using that, with some javascript, it could now display on the website how long ago coffee was made. Clever and awesome hack!
Next up was, Niel (aka Sparkyboy), demoing how to make make music on Gameboys and Toys (chiptunes). It was an interesting demo, showing an unknown sub-culture of people hacking away at old hardware to make sounds and music.
Last up was Rudolf and Nolan (from ikubu) demoing the tech they made to help with self-service checkin in airports. By using kinects, they managed to create 3D models of bags as people load it up on conveyors. This makes it easier for self-service check-in desks to determine if the luggage is adequate and cause as less hassle as possible.
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All in all, seeing some awesome stuff coming out from Stellenbosch. If you want join or demo, join the meetup group, or follow @hackstb on Twitter. The next event is tentatively on 11 July.
