Uncategorized
Pachube workshop

Pachube screenshotPachube diagram



Venue: Lasipalatsi / ‘Spaceship Earth’
Time: Thursday 2 April, 13:00-17:00

Pachube is a web service that enables people to tag and share real time sensor data from objects, devices and spaces around the world. Pachube is a little like YouTube, except that, rather than sharing videos, Pachube enables people to monitor and share real time environmental data from sensors that are connected to the internet. Pachube acts between environments, able both to capture input data (from remote sensors) and serve output data (to remote actuators). Apart from being used in physical environments, it also enables people to embed this data in web-pages, in effect to “blog” sensor data.

The workshop hosted by Christopher Burman (UK) will consist on an introduction to Pachube showing sample projects and demonstrating how Pachube.com has been used by designers, makers, artists, architects and government agencies.

The workshop will cover setting up a pachube feed, sending and receiving data to Pachube using Processing, with an overview of EEML (one of the protocols on which Pachube runs) and then onto creating Pachube enabled Arduino sensors and actuators. After the initial introduction the group will be encouraged to work in small groups to produce some working projects using live pachube data feeds and discussing further methods of connecting to Pachube, including Ruby, Python, Ethernet Arduino and Google SketchUp.

The aim of the workshop is to create a number of working examples using real-time climate and energy data to investigate what designing the control centre for Spaceship Earth might involve. One example case in the workshop will be the energy consumption data from Helsingin Energia (more information).

Alongside electronics projects participants can learn how to share their own collected data online, through blogs, twitter and virtual environments like Second life.

Participants are encouraged to bring any computer and electronic equipment that might be relevant to the workshop. Every participant will be invited to join the on-going beta test of Pachube.com. Invitations can be obtained in advance by emailing pachube09 ((at)) pixelache.ac.

Please sign up to workshop by sending an email to pachube09 ((at)) pixelache.ac. Please include your name, email, phone number and a short text about why you would like to participate to the workshop.

Christopher Burman, UK:
Christopher Burman is currently a developer at Pachube.com. Since graduating in Architecture from the Bartlett School of Architecture he has worked with Usman Haque (founder of Pachube.com and Haque Design + Research) on interactive installations and developing plug-ins for pachube.com as well as on-going research into virtual environments.

Pachube resources:
Website: www.pachube.com
API documentation: http://community.pachube.com/?q=node/127
EEML (XML) library for processing: http://www.eeml.org/library/
Arduino tutorials: http://community.pachube.com/?q=node/11
Tutorials for Python, Ruby, Second Life, etc. etc.: http://community.pachube.com/?q=node/9