Fun IoT Project for SXSW

[Josh Cross]

Background:

I recently received my Onion Omega2+ and was looking for something exciting to do with it so I came up with an idea to buy some old electronic device from Goodwill, hack it up and wire in the Omega. Then, create a web interface for interaction with said device. Being that I'm a fan of escape rooms, puzzles, etc I took it a step further and thought it would be fun to combine the web interface with the physical device in an escape room-esque type of puzzle that can be "unlocked." By this point, I've realized this would be a lot of fun to hide downtown somewhere during SXSW for people to discover and attempt to solve. Finally, this morning I came to the conclusion that I alone could only create something minorly worthwhile but that this group is teeming with talent that has a penchant for hackery. So, below is what I plan to organize and I'd like to invite anyone and everyone who is interested in participating. Anything from puzzle ideas, to development, to donating gear.

Concept:

Create IoT puzzle(s) to be left around downtown during SXSW. Individuals (players) will find the Wifi network, connect, and will be provided instructions to "unlock/solve" the puzzle upon navigating to localhost.

Development:

SXSW starts on March 10th which leaves approximately 2 months for development. Depending on how many people are interested in participating we can meet weekly-ish for 3-5 hours to collaborate and develop OR (if we have a lot of people interested) we can break off into teams where each team will be working on an individual puzzle.

Roles:

The purpose is to have fun hacking around and collaborating with our peers. As I see it, there are 4 different roles for taking this from an idea to in-use:

- Hardware builders: pretty self-explanatory, the ones who wire together the hardware

- Software builders: also self-explanatory, the ones writing the code

- Idea-tors: anyone who has neat puzzle ideas

- Implementation Specialist: there will be a lot that needs to get done besides just dropping the device off somewhere around town once it's complete. This group will be important in making sure they are functioning properly and everything runs smoothly. Ideal candidates are those who may not have software or hardware expertise but want to contribute.

- Donors: If you have old electronics that would make a good puzzle we could use the donation.

Timeline:

Now thru Jan 22: come up with puzzle ideas

Jan 22 - Jan 27: organize teams, create specific build timelines, collect puzzle devices

Jan 27 - Mar 10 (6 wks): develop IoT puzzles

If you are interested in participating with this project you can email me directly at josh.fts...@gmail.com. Please mention any skills/expertise you have as well as your time commitment (again I'm only thinking 3-5 hours/week of collaboration, either in-person or virtually, and then whatever else is needed/you can offer for your assigned tasks).

[ATXHS Public Relations]

Josh,

I love the idea. Let's see what other folks have to say about this. I'm interested in working on the interface and implementation. Maybe we can add a geo-caching type of component to the game? Like flash drives in hidden locations that have keys for decrypting secret instructions.

David Glusenco
Director of Public Relations
www.atxhs.org | p...@atxhs.org

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[Jeffrey Cicolani]

That's an awesome idea, and a great guerrilla marketing tactic.

Jeffrey Cicolani

President; The Robot Group; http://therobotgroup.org

Chair; Chupacabracon; http://chupacabracon.com

See my most recent geekiness at www.cicolanistudios.com and http://nomadrobot.info

"Power to the people powerful enough to crush the other people" Joss Whedon

"Always be yourself... unless you suck." Joss Whedon

[Nicholas Crumrine]

Did you guys make any progress on this?  I might be interested in helping.  I have my hands in a fairly large event during SXSW Interactive so I might be able to get this to a bigger audience.  

[Josh Cross]

Yes, we're moving along nicely. We've organized a few meetings, networked with some local escape rooms, and have secured our electronic appliances for the puzzles.

That sounds pretty enticing. I will message you directly to discuss further.