MakerCamp
2024 Jan - MIT - Research At Scale
As a part of the Maker Camp, Seeed Studio invited 10 MIT researchers to co-create meaningful and open source hardware projects in Shenzhen, explore the tech ecosystem frontier, and join maker networks to explore the local scaling power:
Participants’ documentations:
- PhD student: MIT Media Lab, City Science
- Keywords: Cities, Machine Learning, socio-environmental sensing
- PhD student: MIT Media Lab, Fluid Interfaces
- Keywords: Human-Computer Interactin (HCI), Virtual Reality, Haptics
- PhD student: MIT Media Lab + CSAIL (ResEnv + HCIE)
- Keywords: HCI, Embedded Systems, Wearables
- PhD student: MIT Center for Bits and Atoms (CBA)
- Keywords: Digital Fabrication, Mechanical Engineering
- MS + Research Affiliate: MIT Architecture, Computational Design
- Keywords: eTextiles, Space Exploration
- PhD student: UC Berkeley + MIT Media Lab MS
- Keywords: HCI, Sustainable Design, Dynamic Materials
- PhD student: MIT Media Lab, Tangible Media + CBA
- Keywords: HCI, Materials Science, Biomedical Engineering
- Research Affiliate: CBA + Harvard
- Keywords: Computational Design, Digital Fabrication
- PhD student: MIT CSAIL, HCIE
- Keywords: Digital Fabrication, Robotics, Self-Assembly
- PhD student: MIT CSAIL, HCIE
- Keywords: HCI, Computational Fabrication
Background
The research residency started with the Scalable HCI Symposium, to cross pollinate dialogues on Hardware in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), while showcasing Shenzhen’s potential as a global innovation hub. Drawing inspiration from influential figures in Open Hardware and Hackerspace movements, like Bunnie Huang and Mitch Altman, the symposium emphasizes the democratization of access to Shenzhen’s manufacturing power. This focus is particularly beneficial for communities in developing countries as it amplifies financial accessibility to hardware, but it also paves the way for scaling research to unprecedented dimensions and unexplored territories. In collaboration with leading open hardware industry partners such as Seeed, the symposium provides invaluable insights into these manufacturing intricacies. The recent pandemic has undeniably disrupted global supply chains, but with China’s reopening, the symposium offers a timely platform to rediscover and delve into Shenzhen’s revitalized ecosystem. Join us for an enlightening journey through the landscape of HCI, where academia meets industry, theory meets practice, and potential meets opportunity.
This residency was heavily inspired, and aims to continue the legacy of the followings, in its own way:
- The Previous Research At Scale and Hacking Manufacturing summer schools (+older occurrences).
- The Hacker Trip To China by Noisebridge, the San Francisco Hackerspace.
Program Summary
Academic:
- Seminar presentations by distinguished guests from academia & industry (Berkeley & Seeed)
- Demos & posters by international participants (+Harvard, Berkeley, Cornell, Parsons, CMU, NYU…)
- Hands-on workshops (Tiny ML)
- Hackathon - subject: Open Tech for Good
Technical:
- Field trips to the world famous HuaQiangBei electronic market
- Factories visits: PCBs, injection molding, 3d printing, laser machines, knitting…
- Makerspace & Hackerspace visits (Chaihuo, SZDIY…)
Cultural:
- Art village (Dafen)
- Art & Tech visits (HQB Museum, AIRSpace,…)
- Food exploration field trips (Dongmen)
Introductions video at Chaihuo:
=> More about the presenters:
| Andres Rico | Cathy Fang | Cedric Honnet | David Preiss | Ganit Goldstein |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hila Mor | Jack Forman | Leo McElroy | Martin Nisser | Yunyi Zhu |