The summer solstice has come around once again, as quickly as it ever does, which means the nights are slowly growing longer once again. But let's not think about that!
Summer has a major benefit to the makers among us, as the outdoors once again become a practical work space. I don't know about you, but the bigger projects are prohibitively difficult during the shorter days and colder outdoors, simply because you can't set up the workbench and get the power tools whirring!
Once the bright evenings and warm weather arrive (traditional British rain aside) you can set your sights on much more ambitious projects as tasks like woodworking, metalworking, building elaborate contraptions and all the bigger jobs that won't fit indoors are perfectly possible. Plus, there's something inspiring about the sun and
So what big projects are you planning for the summer? I'd love to come back to this post in a few months time, when the Autumn closes in and we all move back indoors, and see how many of our grand, elaborate projects came to fruition. Here's my big summer project that I'm hoping to crack on with in the next few days, which has been waiting in the wings for just the right moment for me to finally swing into action.
Smart Bed
I can't find a bed frame that...
A) Fits into our oddly-shaped bedroom, and...
B) Is riddled with the kind of awesome electronics that make life worth living.
So I'm working up plans for a bed frame that has storage underneath, but also has some smart features built into the bed head and frame (most likely Raspberry Pi powered). It's going to have:
- Smartphone controlled, dimmable LED floor lighting around the bottom of the frame, for low level visibility.
- This lighting will gradually increase in intensity over the space of, say, half an hour to act as a gentle alarm clock (also smartphone controlled).
- Flush wireless charging spots for smartphones.
- Adjustable, dimmable LED reading lights.
- Some manner of clock. I'm thinking about a seven segment LED clock behind a flush wood veneer, so the digits subtly shine through the wooden frame.
- Controls for the main lighting in the bedroom.
Naturally I need lots of space to put this baby together, and that means working on it outdoors. And that makes it my Ambitious Summer Project!
Tell us all about your Ambitious Summer Project in the replies, or feel free to put together a blog post that we can all come back to at the end of summer to reflect upon! (Tag it with "summer project" if you do).
