I’ve been fortunate to work with many great people and companies over the years. Here are just a few and their stories:
Collaborating with the University of Wollongong’s STEM outreach coordinator, Destiny Paris, we developed the (Wagtail) Water Me Bird soldering kit and lesson plan designed to establish Indigenous knowledge-based connections to STEM. This was delivered within two outreach programs at the University- “Koori STEM Camp” and “STEM Camp for Girls” targeting Year 8- Year 10 students. The product and lesson plan were later adapted to suit the Junior Primary STEM curriculum at Burnside Primary School, where I delivered the soldering and electronics lesson to a cohort of Year 3 students.
Solar Quotes required an easy to operate device cable of collecting energy use statistics from commercial and residential estates. I had the opportunity to work with Finn Peacock to design a compact, intelligent logger to do just that. The device attaches simply to the outside of any energy meter with a pulse output. The data is then retrieved over through USB after the collection period.
Working with Tim Johnsson of Breed Elite Tinker Electric designed and built the first integrated generation of Breed Elite’s sheep drafter. Designed to separate out (draft) sheep, multiple technical hurdles were overcome to arrive at the level of functionality and robustness required for this tough task. The drafter integrated a robust power supply to protect from surging car alternators, remote keyfob control for manual control and integration with the Breed Elite Tablet for command and control of the unit. All design decisions were considered thoroughly with solid performance and ease of use in mind.
‘Simon Says’ training game for climbers this project saw Tinker Electric develope a bluetooth enabled touch sensing board. Two 16 channel touch controllers interface to a processor and bluetooth transmitter to indicate where the climber has climbed to and report back to an App.
Inverbrackie produces studs within the top 2% for genetic quality. To go further they needed to track fertilisation at a more granular level. Tinker Electric developed a ‘Smart Harness’ that tracks ‘tupps’ with females over the courting season. The data is collected via bluetooth and uploaded to Google Docs via WiFi when an access point is detected within range. Identifying successful/unsuccessful fertilisations will allow Inverbrackie to close that last 2%. Stock Journal Article – Genetics pave path to success
Automatic Cocktail Maker Machine
Delicioso approached Tinker to develop the next generation of Cocktail Machines. A smooth user interface and intelligent detection of drinks was required. An App was developed allowing smooth scrolling of cocktails which was also only presented if the correct component drinks were available. The solution consisted of an Android screen connected via Bluetooth to an intelligent motor control system. Intelligent database management allowed the display of only applicable drinks.
RPi RFID + Consulting
Sandpit creates art events utilise sophisticated technology to help communicate wonder and awe. Tinker Electric’s services were utilised to create an RFID reader which integrated to a cloud platform. This involved not only the design of the circuit to read the RFID tag but to develop python code to pass the information to the cloud server via OAUTH2.
Tinker Electric
Physical Like Counter
To engage customers in retail Tinker developed a live display for businesses ‘likes’ on Facebook and other social media programs. Sold throughout the world this display is capable of displaying any web based KPI via WiFi connectivity.
Tinker Electric
Word Clock
Developed by Tinker Electric this unique homewares piece elegantly displays the time in words. Over time this has been refined to now include user selectable colors as well as the ability to display alternate messages on special days. The internals consist of an LED matrix and internet connected controller.
Laurie Co
Internet Controlled Power Point
Developed an internet connected power point which is reports its power consumption and which can be remotely operated via the internet.
Internet controlled power point allows you to check your iron and turn it off even when you aren’t at home