SMC at the Open Hardware Summit
On May 2-4, 2024, the Solar Media Collective took part in the Open Hardware Summit. The Summit is an annual event run by the Open Source Hardware Association, and this year it was held in Montreal. Here’s what we did:
Designing the afterlife of objects: a mini reuse make-a-thon (workshop)
In collaboration with Cyrus Khalatbari and Juan Gomez (Geneva Arts and Design University/Swiss Federal Institute of Technology), Christine White and Janna Frenzel organised and facilitated a workshop on e-waste and reuse.
Hosted by the Concordia University Centre for Creative Reuse (CUCCR), and supported by the amazing Anna Timm-Bottos, Arrien Weeks and Erfan Shafiee, we took apart discarded circuit boards and used their components and other treasures from the Centre to create unique ornamental objects. The participants first assembled and arranged their compositions, placed them in the moulds, and then cast them in epoxy resin.
After these tiny works of art had dried, some participants chose to drill small holes into them to use them as pendants or hang them on a wall. Given the enthusiasm, we will definitely be repeating this workshop in collaboration with CUCCR, so follow them on Instagram to catch the announcement!
Modded Game Boys (demo table)
Building on past workshops and research at the Residual Media Depot, Alex Custodio and Michael Iantorno showed off their collection of modded Game Boys! These devices ranged from solar-powered Game Boy Pockets to a Game Boy Advance that we transformed into a full videogame console.
While Nintendo’s products are, by no stretch of the imagination, open source hardware, we felt the OHS was a great venue to demonstrate our ongoing efforts to crack open Game Boys to repair, modify, and enhance them. The day went well and we had a steady stream of guests playing with our Game Boys, asking us questions about our process, and taking pictures with our Game Boy Camera.
One of the best things about the day was learning about other people who tinker with residual technologies in Montreal. We chatted with the FouLab folks about their collection of old home computers, and Michael is currently planning a visit to play some old PC games.
Stitching Accessibility (demo table)
The project that Hanine El Mir presented at OHS mixes traditional embroidery (namely, cross-stitching) and technology, highlighting the (in)accessibility of Montreal’s metro system: stations that have an elevator light up while the others don’t.
Everyone who stopped by my table was extremely welcoming and kind, giving me best practice tips or sharing suggestions of products that can help me take my project to the next level. Someone even offered to give me free hardware from their stash to incorporate into my project.
It was my very first OHS experience because I had missed previous summits. The event makes technology accessible and demonstrates that it is not the exclusive domain of a few geniuses. Because my project was on accessibility in the local metro, OHS seemed like the right place for it.
