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Dublin Hack Ideas

Page history last edited by Alan Rice 12 years ago

Registration for Science Hack Day Dublin is open - www.sciencehackdaydublin.com

March 3rd & 4th The Hub / DCU / Dublin 

 

Got an idea for a science hack? Got a brainwave for a mashup? Add it here. If you see an idea you'd like to hack/collaborate on, add your name to it!

 

To edit the wiki first create an account here

 

What can you do?

Need ideas? Browse some of the ideas from previous Science Hack Days or add to/check out the ongoing list of science-related APIs, data and useful frameworks. Then, add your project idea for Dublin's Science Hack Day below!

 

Example Title (tags: example tag, example tag)

Example idea description goes here. Keep it to just a few short & sweet sentences.

Hackers:

  • Your Name, Email, Twitter Username (so people can talk to you about your idea!)

Comments:

  • Commenter Name, Email, Twitter Username (so people can talk to you about your comment!) 

 

HACK IDEAS

 

1. Real Life QWOP

Firstly what is QWOP? It is a ridiculously hard online game where you control an athetes limbs.

It got me thinking, by using electrostimulation of muscles could we create a real life QWOP athlete controllable from a keyboard. What would that look like? Funny I guess.

Hackers:

  • David McKeown - @robots_ie

Comments: Anyone know anything about Electrostim? have access to something we could hack? 

  • Alan A (@alanarmstrong5) - I should have access to something like that I'll check it out in the lab here in DCU and get back to you. I don't know much about it but could possibly get the equipment! 
  • Alan A (@alanarmstrong5) - I spoke to my supervisor about this stuff and he said that there has been lots of research on this type of stimulation especially in people who are paraplegic but it doesn't look doable in 36hrs would require a full research team and very fine tuning and locations in order to get any type of correct movement unfortunately!  

 

2. Paradigm (Shift) Finder

A paradigm shift is a major revolutionary discovery that changes basic assumptions in a field of science, e.g. the emergence of quantum mechanics over classical. If papers are visualised as nodes and citations as links, what do paradigm shifts look like? Can we identify unacknowledged shifts and predict shifts as they happen? Could we enter say "stem cells" and see how research has changed in recent years?

Hackers:

  • @alanmrice (Inspired by literature review writing)

Comments:

 

3. Never mind the World Wide Web - Where is the Universal Web? -> No Grannies and Granddads Left Behind

IDEA: Develop a browser add on tool to inform developers of how accessible their web site is. 

So you want to make the world a better place? Improve Web Accessibility for Web-Newbie. For many people new to technology and computers, the web is not wide but narrow: it's hard to get into and get started 
As more and more public services move to the web don't let the Grannies and Grandpas be left behind. Inaccessibility goes well beyond the older generations.
Hackers:

  • Jane Morgan, @jem1406 (Inspired by a tweet: @martharotter; How amazing would it be if email apps like Gmail or Yahoo mail had a "I'm a beginner!" setting?! No ads, clear UI, easier help. Why not?!)

Comments:
Resources & Inspiration: http://www.w3.org/TR/wai-age-literature/     http://www.section508.gov/  NSAI Swift 9  http://www.dingoaccess.com/accessibility/improving-web-accessibility-for-the-elderly-csun-slides-and-transcript/     http://www.w3.org/WAI/

 

 

4. XBMC GetGlue plugin

XBMC is an open source media player extensible using a python run time environment. GetGlue.com is a start up that allows users to "check in" to TV shows, movies and music as members are using content, similar to a facebook/foursquare check in for places. An XBMC plugin for getglue to automatically check in when content is accessed on the player (e.g. start watching an episode of The Simpsons) would be an excellent addition to a rapidly expanding library of plugins and add ons for the media player

Hacker: Joseph McCarthy

Comments:

Resources & Inspiration:

XBMC homepage: http://xbmc.org/

GetGlue homepage: http://getglue.com/

GetGlue API: http://getglue.com/api

 

5. Photo Tagger plug-in

A plug-in that will allow a site vistor to tag photos of an individual by clicking on the image (usually just on the face, like facebook) and a dialogue window will open that will allow them to type in the persons name. This will then appear just like facebook where those tagged will be listed in the description of the photo and if you hover over their faces you will see the tagged name. 

Hacker:

  •   @stevenconlon

Comments:  Could this be extended past just tagging faces, is there a scientific problem which this would help? I'm thinking tagging of specimens, research data. Take x-rays for example, my understanding fractures are hard to detect, it takes a lot of training to get good at spotting them. If there was a database x-rays with fractures tagged by type and marked at the exact location of the break. Would this be a useful tool/learning aid?     David McKeown - @robots_ie

 

6. Document uploader plug-in

An uploader plug-in where a site visitor will fill in the following fields: Name, Address, Telephone, Email, CAPTCHA and will have to click a terms and conditions button and select one of the following: Donate (publication), Donate (no publication), another drop menu which has the options: anonymous donation or public donation and finally an upload feature for Jpegs, audio files, video files and pdfs with a max of 30mb - the plug-in should create a folder on the server called 'edonations'. The plug-in should also have the function to allow the webmaster to write some text for an automatic email to be sent to the donor and the ability to list an email to receive a notification every time a document is uploaded. 

Hacker:

  •   @stevenconlon

Comments:         

 

7. Youth Physical Activity Towards Health (Y-PATH) Online Progress Report Tool

Development of an interactive web page enabling approximately 100 children to log their weekly physical activity behaviour. Ultimately, children will log the following:

  1. Duration of activity
  2. Days of activity
  3. Minutes of activity
  4. Type of activity
  5. Nutrition

 

Pending the data recorded from the above 5 categories, children will be prescribed individual and specific behavioural feedback. The feedback needs to be relevant to the selected activity categories and visually representative. Use of an online avatar could also be used to improve adherence. 

 

Hacker:

  • Wesley O' Brien - wesley.obrien5@mail.dcu.ie

Comments: 

 

8. Open Statistics Wiki

Statistics have become an every increasing aspect of modern sports, with everything from completed passes to distance ran supplied by the media after a game. However, this is a closed shop, and fans have little or no access to the statistics themselves to compile their own.

The central concept of a wiki is that anyone can edit any aspect of any page. I propose setting up a customised version of a wiki that allows any user of the wiki to create or edit any event in any game, either via terminal, PC or mobile, and opening the data to be interpreted by anyone using customised tools.

Hacker: Joseph McCarthy

Comments: How much sports data is freely available? As a separate project could we pick one (possibly obscure) sport, use the data to make predictions. Could we funded next years SHD with this? - David McKeown - @robots_ie

I was thinking of a concept similar to OpenStreetMap where the data is all user-submitted, instead of provided by private companies. Take and Premier League game, there's 15,000+ in the stadium to submit or correct any incorrect data - Joseph McCarthy

 

9. Rehabilitation of Stroke Victims' Coordination Using Interactive Gaming

One of the most debilitating effects of a stroke lies with the coordination difficulties experienced. We often take for granted the ability to tie a shoe lace, open a jar or reach for a cup at the top of a cupboard, an inability to coordinate these basic tasks can have a serious affect on a stroke victims quality of life. The use of technology and gaming in the rehabilitation of a number of discorders has become extremely popular in the last few years:

 

  1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65XrJ9DG3mM&feature=youtu.be
  2. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-14484516 

 

I would like to develop an interactive game using vision, audio and tactile information to stimulate neuromuscular and cognitive functions in stroke patients. We currently have access to motion sensors including goniometers and accelerometers as well as national Instruments Data Acquisition (DAQ) hardware. 

 

Hacker:

  • @alanarmstrong5
  • Johann Issartel 

Comments:

 

10. Aurora Orrery

The Aurora Borealis or Northern Lights are a natural light display in the sky caused by the collision of energetic charged particles with atoms in the high altitude atmosphere. Because the sun is now entering a more active part of its solar cycle more frequent solar storms and therefore auroras should occur for the next few years. While a lot of aurora related data is available, it's not currently presented in a format that makes it easy for non-experts to know when to go aurora hunting. We'd like to help.

 

To start, we can transform real time space weather & magnetic field data into an aurora geo ref layer. This can then be presented in a number of formats

1. Simple google earth/map for laptops and mobile devices

2. A physical map (north pole perspective) - Real-time, data-driven illuminated by LED 

3. A physical Globe of earth - Data-driven illuminated LED 

4. Illuminated Space orrery including solar variability

 

We mightn't get all of this done but we can try :)

 

Hackers: 

  • Connor Upton
  • David PS - @dvdgc13

Comments:

We could really do with some help on this. Particularly with the LED hardware electronics . Anyone know what we need to buy? I have an old arduino board somewhere if that's a start. Also some help with the software side would be great.

@robots_ie - If it is LEDs you want then @partfusion is your man! He'll be there and I think he has seen this.

 

Materials needed: 

- Map print out

- A globe (or at least a ball of some description)

- levels and pulleys or mechano/lego technic pieces to build orrary

- arduino board (have this)

- A ton of LEDs (different colors)

- Batteries?

- 36 extra hours :)

 

11. Hardware Hacking Area

It's not a project but a collection of resources for those participants that would like to interface their projects with the real world.

  • Basic hand tools (screwdrivers, knife, ruler, hacksaw, pliers, cutters, soldering irons, multimeter)
  • Breadboards, proto/strip board, jumper wires, hookup wire
  • Selection of electronic components (resistors, capacitors, logic gates, other interesting IC's, lots of LED's (various colors, RGB, UV, IR))
  • Micro controller development kits (TI LaunchPad, Arduino UNO, mbed LPC1768)
  • Interesting devices (Wiimote Plus, Kinect for Xbox 360)

Hackers:

  • Robert Fitzsimons - @PartFusion

Comments:

 

12. Toilet tagging (yes, toilet tagging)

IDEA: To wee or not too wee, that is often the question:
Whether 'tis safer in the long run to wait
due to the unspeakables and unpleasantness of outrageous toilets,
Or to take smart phones against an ocean of unclean bathrooms,
And by tagging rate them; to shame, to rank
No more; and by a wee, to say we end

....... for those not interested in Shakespeare.........

We are not good at complaining about loos and bathrooms some of which, let's face it, are just plain olde unpleasant.  We are probably not looking for a loo-feed here but how about something that would alerts the organization to the problem (which they can then choose to address) while sharing the information so other users are warned.  Create the ability (people probably won't download a 'loo app') to tag the bathroom (with a QR code?), rank it and a tweet appears in that organizations twitter feed.  Sample @DCU the loo in <building name> is <select from a list of options> There would need to be some way to consistently identify individual bathrooms. Overtime the data could be aggregated and included in trip advisor and the like.  There should probably be the ability for the organization to post a notification that the problem was addressed.  Perhaps this method could replace the standard way of someone initialing the cleaning chart in the bathroom i.e. clean the bathroom and post a tweet. @DCU s ladies bathrooms in <build name>  <bathroom locations> was just serviced.

Hackers:

  • Jane Morgan, @jem1406 

Resources & Inspiration: Inspired  too frequent travel on trains that are not 'pleasant' but when you gotta go, you gotta go.

 

 

 

13. Time is precious

 

This hack is inspired by something we're all too familiar with: lack of liquidity.
Value has become further & further removed from the hands of individual to paper-notes and digits on a screen.
Very viable projects have stalled because of a lack of sufficient digits on ones particular screen.
Otherwise capable individuals have been thrown into a sense of paralysis.

But we all still need stuff done...
So this idea is an online vault to trade my TIME for yours?

Our hack is to money ...what:

 

  • Open source is to software
  • Napster is to the music industry 


An online 'vault' powered by it's community where you cannot get into debt.
You cannot print imaginary time as you can with fiat currency.
Greed has no place, you cannot stock-pile or steal someone else's time.
You cannot take unused time to your grave or leave it to be inherited.
A CEO's minute is no more valuable than a 13 year old's 60-seconds.
If you don't use a minute it is simply gone and lost forever.


Hackers:
Kevin Sexton  ( @sextonireland )
James Keane ( @level71 )

Comments:
We'd love all sorts of individuals to explore & prototype with us:

to chop this concept up, tear it apart, critique it, improve it, with markers, paper, low-tech and hi-tech, code & cardboard.

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

 

 

 

 

The concept of 

Hackers: 

  • Connor Upton
  • David PS - @dvdgc13

10. Aurora Orrery

wikipedia is that anyone can edit any page.

Comments (1)

Joseph McCarthy said

at 7:23 am on Feb 20, 2012

@Wesley O'Brien examine fitocracy.com for a similar concept

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