Maker Faire Rome featured the very best of the Maker movement: Exceptional demonstrations of design and application innovation, amazing hands-on opportunities to release your creativity, extraordinary new products, great giveaways, and even a chance to take and share photos. And this was all at the STMicroelectronics stand.
Several of the demos revealed the new Arduino STAR OTTO board, the first in a series of boards featuring the STM32 series MCU and offering Wi-Fi, integrated graphics capabilities, a micro-SD slot, a USB host, a headphone and speaker output, and an on-board stereo microphone. These demos showed how you could control an appliance with hand gestures; manage 3D graphics via a touchscreen; and build a music player.
Other demos showed the amazing capabilities of the STM32 Open Development Environment, which offers STM32 Nucleo development and expansion boards. These demos included the BlueMicrosystem flexible Internet of Things and Wearables prototype that showed activity recognition using real-time motion sensing, secure Bluetooth and NFC connectivity, and beam-forming technology for advanced audio processing; a Sun Tracker that used light sensors to drive a stepper motor to optimize the orientation of a solar panel for maximum light exposure; and a reference design board for a 3D printer.
A third set of demos recognized makers using STM32 MCUs. These included a wearable exoskeleton that detected user movements to control a remote robot; a motion-sensing guitar that applied movement-based effects to music; a shark-shaped autonomous flying balloon; and a high-speed 3D printer using STM32 MCUs and STSPIN stepper-motor drivers.
While these demos attracted a lot of attention, so too did the photo contest. With an opportunity to win just a little fame, not so much fortune, and several STM32 Nucleo boards, ST challenged attendees to capture the spirit of Maker Faire Rome. Judging from the pictures submitted everyone was a winner!
