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I’ve always got loads of projects on the go, this is a good thing.  The way my mind works is that I’ll obsess over something for ages, making loads of notes and plans, then I’ll start working on it until I hit a blocker and put it on the back burner.  I’ll then pick up another of my projects, rinse and repeat.  I thought I’d create a page with a list of my projects so that readers can have an overview of my long term projects and where they are.

“Hugo”

Hugo is my Mini, he’s a 1990 Mini Thirty which is an oddity as they were first released in 1959 so he must have been one of the last registered.  The plan is to take a classic car, one I’ve loved all my life, and bring it up to a more modern spec without losing its essence.  This means that the external and internal styling will remain true to form but the internals will be given a kick, upgrading the engine to replace the carb/distributor combo to use EFI (Electronic Fuel Injection), upgrading the suspension to be a bit smoother and getting a five speed gear box.  The instrument cluster will be upgraded to a digital system, central locking and electric windows.  Possibly trickiest will be climate control.

A great talk was given by Dan Smith at EMF 2016 this year, he is way ahead of me and his talk is well worth a watch.  His Escort MK1 is a beauty too!

“Bumblebee”

Bumblebee is my aged Roomba, it’s an original 2002 model that has seen better days.  I’m using it as a chassis to experiment with mobile robotics and I’m replacing it’s logic board with an Arduino and Raspberry Pi to enable new behaviours and capabilities.  Mostly just me having a play.

“Plan B”

This one needs a name but Plan B fits quite well, this is very much in the planning stages but it’s a micro caravan that I can tow behind Hugo.  “Plan B” is essentially “escape” so quite apt!  I want to be able to have a compact space I can tour in that gives me a few luxuries, the most important specification is that as soon as I arrive on site I can make a cup of tea with minimal work.  No popups or fancy setups in this case, it’s quite a challenge but a very long term plan that needs Hugo finished first!

Shooting Gallery

This is a game I’m designing for Reading Beer Festival’s Games Team, it’ll be a bunch of targets that you can shoot with a Nerf(TM) gun that count how many points you’ve scored and auto resets once done.

Home Hacking

Home automation, new furniture, that sort of thing.

Virtual Pinball Table

I’ve wanted to build a virtual pinball cabinet for years and recently one of my colleagues gave me a 30″ IPS monitor which will be ideal for the play area.  I’m going to make it into a coffee/cocktail cabinet style with a removable backboard so it’ll have multiple uses.  Early days and I’ll likely pick this one up over winter.

Hat Hacking

I wear hats, I like wearable tech, why have I not hacked my hat yet?!  At EMF this year I discovered how useful having a head torch strapped to my hat was, I want to make modes to a hat that aren’t obvious but will add features.  RGB LEDs, vibration motors and audio devices are all on the cards.

Bike Hacking

I live in a town and can get most places quick enough on my bike, I also have a trailer for it which means I have less excuses not to cycle places.  I’ve installed a dynamo hub in the front wheel, which I need to write up at some point, and want to build a set of lights and a cycle computer for it.  This will include cargo hacks too.