MUEEC WattHack
The two day, team-based hardware hackathon with a transportation theme was held in Telstra Creator Space on 20 and 21 April, during the university’s midsemester break. It focussed on re-using parts from e-waste, everything from desk phones to signal generators, sourced from the university and a recycling centre. Club members came into the Space prior to the event to tear down the collected e-waste for PCBs, dials, LED screens and other usable components.
On Day 1, seven teams of four to five students were set the challenge of building the best solution to a transportation problem they defined. They were given an hour and a half to plan, able to look at but not take any materials. Their plans were one of six criteria they were judged on, the others being: relevance to the theme, creativity, e-waste usage, aesthetics and their final presentation. E-waste usage had the most points on offer. After lunch, they were provided with an Arduino board and the e-waste components and began building. Most of the time was spent testing components and programming, with the Telstra Creator Space staff providing support and guidance while ensuring participants’ safety.
On Day 2, with industry professionals dropping in during the final build phase. After a total of ten hours build time, it was tools down and time for teams to present their work. Each team stated their chosen transportation problem, identified their solution and explained their planning and build processes, finishing with a demonstration. A team who built a car with an autonomous braking system and automatic doors achieved third place. Two points was all that separated second place from first, with the team coming in second building Boat-E, an aircraft carrier incorporating an impressive amount of e-waste. The winning team made Snail, a prototype hovercraft out of server fans, a rubbish bag and some MDF, all controlled with a smartphone app via wifi.
Congratulations to the MUEEC Commitee and the 30 participants!
Here a few photos of what happened over the two days:
Winner : Snail, a prototype hovercraft out of server fans, a rubbish bag and some MDF, all controlled with a smartphone app via wifi.