Last night, Street Techie Alberto Gaitán and I attended a planning session for a DC area “chapter” of Dorkbot, the loose confederation of electronic arts groups where artists, geeks, and gadget weenies of all stripes get together to confab, demo, and socialize. This first coffeehouse klatch was small, but we’re planning to expand, maybe adding YOU to our roster. If you live in the DC area and want to get involved, go to the Dorkbot DC webpage and sign up for the mailing list. I’ll also be posting notices here on Street Tech for upcoming meetings and events.
True to the Dorkbot spirit, even though this was a planning meeting, we still did a little show and tell of cool widgets. Among other casual demos, the meeting’s instigator, Thomas Edwards, showed off his newly acquired RVHE MCU, a teeny and feature-rich US$90 microcontroller. He also showed us a vid of his “Differential Touch” project, where he’s going to have virtual hands that can communicate touch over the Internet. It was great to meet Thomas. He was the artist who created my two favorite pieces in last year’s Art-o-Matic, the Sycophant (pictured here) and the School of Fish Pain. Hysterical and poignant geek art.
Definitely consider joining up if you’re in the area. We’re planning to have guest speakers in the future, demos, ongoing projects, and larger events. It should be a lot of fun.