Citizen-led DIY environment monitoring - sensor lab hands-on workshop

Data drives the Internet, from intrusive platforms to innovative and inclusive services. “Data for good” can be created from the ever increasing variety of low cost environmental sensors and open source platforms that are being adopted to monitor climate change, air or water pollution, radiation, renewable energy systems, as well as providing building or agricultural services such as micro-climate, lighting, security and irrigation control. With numerous use cases and social benefits built from even the most frugal set-up, our DIY space is the perfect way to get inspired for your own sensor project or test some ideas on others.

As a permanent intervention in re:publica’s Makerspace, a team of tech and environment enthusiasts, together with the maker community, will engage in practical dialogues with all generations who visit the venue. At the heart of the lab will be a solar-powered open-hardware sensor controller that can handle dozens of different sensors and display data on a laptop or smartphone. Participants will be invited to present their ideas or questions and then engage in building a test scenario, creating a working sensor setup and publishing the results on an open-data platform in real-time. The next big thing might start with a small sensor!