The Event:
This is a full-day follow-on to our regular monthly Seattle Community Network (SCN) “Hack Night” event, where community members and volunteers get together to hack on radio and network-related mini-projects.
Link to our regular monthly Hack Night event: https://www.meetup.com/seattle-tacoma-community-network/events/297020229/

This month’s special edition Hack Day will focus on prototyping IoT and home sensing applications for use in Tiny House Villages, for a UW community co-design research project we’ve been partnering with. We’re currently working with Nickelsville Northlake and Nickelsville Central District, but hoping to partner with more later on. Some examples that have already been installed include an air quality sensor, and Philips Hue lights that go on at night and off during the day. However, we have requests and ideas for a lot more through our co-design workshop sessions with the residents (examples below).

Some proposed mini-projects based on ideas from our co-design workshops with THV residents:
-In-line water flow/usage sensor
-Temperature sensors and heating elements to prevent water pipes from freezing
-Power usage monitor
-Motion sensors with lights for dark areas of the villages
-Bathroom occupancy sensor with light indicator
-Automated door closing/locking mechanisms
-Automated beeping when the door has been left open for a length of time
-Home Assistant webpage design improvements
-3D print enclosures for the two installed Raspberry Pi Home Assistant Controllers (currently just the bare circuit boards)

Notes:
The existing sensors are controlled using the Google Home Assistant platform. Additional sensors would ideally integrate with that if possible.

Actuators are also needed (as you can see from the list above)! Bring your electronics, hardware, and parts! We will have a few Raspberry Pis at the event.

Sensors often fail! Part of the engineering challenge is to make these as robust as possible, especially challenging for the mostly outdoor environment of villages, to retain their usefulness over time.

Program:
10am- Brief tour of space and tools available to use
10:30am- Brief informal intros and kickoff, subgroup/mini-project explanations/pitches, team joining, work start
12pm- lunch and check-in
4:30pm- wrap up and project demos
5pm- clean up
6pm- exit