Is Bristol Choking?

Air pollution web scraper

• Date: February 2018
• Client: JBR Engineering
• Category: Software Development

I had some of my Nixie Pipe displays showing air pollution data collected by the council, using a Python web scraper at an art trail and people seemed very interested and unaware of the data. I considered how good it would be to have live displays at the air monitoring sites for people to see, but decided a web app was more feasible as a weekend project and less risky!

Is Bristol Choking? is the result. You may wonder what I mean by choking: I’ve classed an area as choking if the current 15 minute average NO2 value is greater than the annual mean legal limit set by the EU of 40 µg/m³ and as stated in the WHO guidelines. Check the website during rush hours and weekend daytime and most are choking. Have a read of the choking and about sections for more.

I used it as a means to learn Python Flask and Python web app tech in general and hope it is clearer and easier to understand than the council site. There is an about section that should add some context to the numbers, which I feel the council site was lacking.

#concept-development #software-design

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Nixie Pipe

The modern day Nixie Tube.

• Date: November 2016
• Client: JBR Engineering
• Category: Product Development

Nixie Pipe provides the unique visual intrigue of a Nixie Tube but with modern day portability, reliability and interfacing. Each Nixie Pipe contains ten individually interfacable RGB LEDs, which sit below channeled layers of acrylic acting as light pipes. By laser engraving the acrylic layers, the piped light diffracts, creating controlled illumination. Nixie Pipes are modular and can be chained together to form displays, using a Master module to drive Slave modules.

#concept-development #pcb-design #hardware-design #software-design

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Honock

Hexagon based clock

• Date: July 2017
• Client: JBR Engineering
• Category: Product Development

Honock is a clock made using hexagons. It looks like honeycomb and so christened the name honock, honey/clock. A hexagon has six sides: By tessellating hexagons on each side, the number of hexagons increases in multiples of six – perfect for timing! A geometric progression of factor six.

The outer twelve hexagons show hours: 1-12 clockwise like a normal clock. Minutes are shown on the inner six hexagons by increasing the saturation and brightness of each of the six hexagons as ten minutes elapses; like viscous honey flowing into the hexagon. So 0-60 clockwise again but in ten minute steps: [10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60]. Reading the time to the minute is a challenge but one can quickly ascertain how far through the hour the time is to the general minutes – just like a traditional wall clock. The middle hexagon can toggle between breathing to show seconds or just remain static. In the demo above (running at accelerated speed), the time runs from 13:45 to 00:00.

Inside is custom electronics driving multi-colour LEDs. It’s powered by a micro USB (cable included) and features a button to set the time, toggle the middle second indicator and set the outer display colour. By default, the outer display (hours) is a nice honey yellow but can be set to any colour. The inner hexagons (minutes), cycling through the colour spectrum depending on the time of day so one can see whether it’s AM or PM (in case you live in a windowless room!). At midday and midnight, a rainbow floods through Honock for a minute.

#concept-development #pcb-design #hardware-design #software-design

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Bristol Butt'r

Anti-chafing cream

• Date: October 2012
• Client: JBR Cycling
• Category: Product Development

Bristol Butt'r is a thick antiseptic ointment, to help prevent chafing and sores when doing sports. Known as 'chamois cream' in cycling, Bristol Butt'r was developed by John Whittington in pursuit of the perfect chamois cream. The result is a hand crafted, no expense spared chamois butter; thick and long lasting with high levels of active ingredient. Whilst chasing the cyclist dream himself, John decided others could benefit from the butter too, going into production and handmaking it between training rides!

#concept-development #brand-design #operations-management #retail

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Wooden Bits

Binary wall clock

• Date: December 2014
• Client: JBR Engineering
• Category: Product Development

I wanted a binary clock for the geek in myself but didn't want it too look geeky! Something I could mount on the wall and provoke question, rather than distaste.

'Wooden Bits' is what I created. It's a 4x4 matrix created from laser-cut plywood sections. To add interest to the shape and prevent it from being a boring square, I used 'kerf bending' (close slots created from the natural bur of the laser) to form organic curves; the LEDs snake through internals, following the plywood form.

#concept-development #pcb-design #hardware-design #software-design

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PiJuice Console Addon

Development of console input board

• Date: March 2014
• Client: Agilic Ltd
• Category: Electrical & software design

Agilic required help producing the Maker Console to be included with the PiJuice. Services provided included production of specification including feasibility study, hardware specification, development gates/timescale and financial forecasting. Prototyping of electrical hardware and Python software for mouse, keyboard and joystick input. PCB design using the FR4 as the mechanical backbone as well as the electrical connectivity - saving additional materials and manufacture - that connects to the Raspberry Pi, between the Pi Juice module and a TFT screen.

#software-design #electrical-design #assembly #development-cycle

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Whitterm-220

Clever RS232 terminal

• Date: June 2016
• Client: JBR Engineering
• Category: Product Development

An entry to the Hack a Day Anything Goes 2016 prize. The Whitterm-220 (WT-220) is a clever terminal, in the sense that it aims to emulate the dumb terminals of the 80s but with the versatility of something produced now. The name comes from my inspiration for the project: failure to win a VT-220 on eBay. I decided it would be fun to make a homage to the VT-220, that would actually be useful – a not so dumb, or clever terminal – that would do more than simply parsing RS232 levels into Ascii characters.

#software-design #electrical-design #assembly #cad #mechanical-design

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MATLAB FDTD Modelling

Acoustic Modelling

• Date: June 2014
• Client: MACH Acoustics
• Category: MATLAB

As part of MACH Acoustics’ open window research, they wanted a FDTD model to visualise sound waves moving through various window opening scenarios. I created a FDTD function, that would create an impulse wave at a specified position then calculate discrete pressure points across a defined grid size and time step. Geometry (boundary conditions) could be loaded into the function using scripts for different objects (opening, top/bottom swing window, baffle, etc), video saved and pressure, mic, time step data saved for repeat plotting (the solver took a few minutes to run so being able to plot existing data saved time). There is no currently no absorption so the sound does not decay, reflecting 100%. For short periods however this does not hinder the visualisation too drastically.

#software-design #matlab

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Auden

Portable battery powered bluetooth speaker

• Date: May 2014
• Client: JBR Engineering
• Category: Product Design

I designed this speaker because I wanted a portable audio device I could use in the workshop when working or outside with friends. It's a fully wooden construction powered speaker, made by layering laser-cut plywood. I call it 'Auden' - [Au]dio woo[den].

By layering the plywood, I was able to create the unique hourglass shape. It looks interesting but also makes it easy to carry and doubles up as the perfect cradle for the audio device being played. The design is inspired by the retro wooden audio equipment of the 80s with a modern twist.

#electrical-design #assembly #mechanical-design

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iPhone Dock

Laser-cut wooden iPhone dock

• Date: June 2015
• Client: JBR Engineering
• Category: Product Development

11 layers, engineered to hold the Lightning plug at just the right level, allow for the phone to stand upright and to be easily inserted/removed. Four stainless steel M3 bolts hold the layers together, tightened with Nylon nuts to protect the surface top.

#product-development

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+/-15kV Battery Powered High Voltage Power Supply

Limited build laboratory research instrument.

• Date: December 2015
• Client: Hearn Morley/Alesi Surgical
• Category: Mechanical design & assembly

#mechanical-design #cad #fabrication #assembly

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