This page shows the latest research projects that are underway here at MCQN. So everything here is subject to change and might not make it into a finished product. It's all part of a desire to open up debate around what we'd like to make, so we'd love to hear your thoughts on these ideas.

Mazzini and the Light Load Lamp

Just in time for our trip to Maker Faire I managed to get the second Mazzini prototype up and running. It improves upon the original prototype in a number of ways, but the most interesting is the addition of a triac, which means that the Arduino board can now control the power to the device being monitored.

This is where things start to get really interesting.

Mazzini Monitors Its First Appliance

This past week the Mazzini project, my controllable electricity monitor, has taken a great step forwards. The initial hardware prototype I talked about earlier has undergone a few tweaks and is now soldered up rather than push-fitted together on breadboard. It's also boxed up in a not-too-pretty but suitably environmentally-sound reused ice-cream tub, which means I can leave it running without fear of anyone accidentally coming into contact with 240V AC.

The Mazzini Project: An Update

It's been a while since I announced my latest research project, the controllable electricity meter, and although I haven't written any more about it (apart from the occasional comment on my twitter feed) behind the scenes it has been steadily progressing.

The latest research project: taking control of your electricity bill

As part of the new not-just-talking-about-to-do-lists approach, let me introduce the latest research project here at MCQN - The Mazzini Project.

For a while now I've been thinking about how we green all these old houses that most of us live in. One of the ideas is to help people visualize where their energy is being used. Then they can see where any is being wasted, or work out whether it's worth replacing old appliances with something newer.