Chaos Computer Club - archive feed

The USB type-C connector has become the universal connector for modern devices. It is able to transmit USB, video, power, and more, Often doing several of these at the same time. All, while maintaining backwards compatibility with older hardware using relatively simple adapters. This talk will explore the methods used to make this possible and the consequences of not following the spec (e.g. Invalid charging cables, or the issues on the raspberry pi type 4). Some basic electronics knowledge will be beneficial to understand everything in the talk but definitely not essential. For those looking to start using the connector in their own projects the talk will give the knowledge to do so. about this event: https://c3voc.de

Using end of life or 'scrap' EV & Hybrid parts and opensource firmware I'm making an electric motorbike, having got tired of making dirty diesel ones! The scrapyards are now filled with slightly broken EVs and Hybrid cars, and almost no one knows what to do with them. As a result the parts they are made from are very affordable and available for repurposing and hacking into your own projects. The project is far from complete so there is nothing to bring to the show as I was hoping but there is lots to talk about and discuss regarding the state of play of hacking scrapped and discarded power inverters. The motorbike project uses a battery from a BMW i3 electric car, the motor is from a Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV & the main power inverter for driving the motor is from a hacked Prius running open source firmware with the motorcycle running gear from used motorbikes and a whole host of other bits connected together in ways never intended. The project is only possible using the work done by the EV car hacking community Openinverter.org and their community forum which have reverse engineered the EV power controllers allowing you to run open source firmware on them with some minor alterations. about this event: https://c3voc.de

We go through the last 4 years of badge development, leak the 2020 badge design and give a run-through of the development process of the TiDAL badge about this event: https://c3voc.de

"Tech companies don't tell you this but you can just repair phones, I've repaired 458 phones" Building a tech mutual aid from scratch and getting over your fear of failure, a tour of the highs and lows of building a local community, and why it's worth it. about this event: https://c3voc.de

Is it possible to trick a facial detection algorithm with... yarn? In this talk I will explore the possibilities and process of making a knitted garment to trick facial detection into seeing faces that aren't really there. This talk will go through how these algorithms work (at a high level), and then the process of making an image into a pattern, knitting it, and testing it. about this event: https://c3voc.de

Stories from the frontline of those trying to redirect the next $3.6 trillion of global investment into demonstrably carbon net-zero outcomes. This decade is arguably the 'last roll of the dice' when it comes to acting on climate. We've spent the last two years digging deep into financial and policy systems, working out how to shift money away from fossil fuels and towards things that might not be awful—and that markets might actually do at scale. Building on the experiences of developing the Open Banking Standard, the Open Data Institute and AMEE, we'll report on how we're progressing to try and deliver a *demonstrably* net-zero future—by unlocking real-world data-flows. Learn about what companies, countries, markets and governments are doing today: the good, the bad and the ugly. Learn what you can do, wherever you are, to be an Icebreaker and help all of us address our climate, environmental and biodiversity emergencies. This needs everyone. about this event: https://c3voc.de

Writing a gameboy emulator is probably the most rewarding hobbyist project I've ever embarked on. Not only is the process educational and enlightening, but it's hard to describe the satisfaction of playing Tetris on an emulator that *you wrote*. An emulator from scratch is not a small undertaking, but the Gameboy is well documented, and just simple enough that's it's possible for one person to write an emulator on their own. I recommend it to everyone! In this talk I'll show some of the highlights of the journey, and what to expect if you embark on it yourself. about this event: https://c3voc.de

On the surface of it it seems simple: tech and maker types have skills they enjoy using, and community groups have unmet needs that could be helped by these skills. Why then does it feel so incredibly hard to make these collaborations happen in reality? And why does it feel even harder to do it while meaningfully fighting the Tories, transphobes, racists, and neo-Nazis? This talk takes it back to the roots of why we are here and what we’re doing to explore why. I will break down how harmful neoliberal methodologies that dominate tech groupthink such as Human Centered Design and Design Thinking fundamentally restrict what can be made whilst presenting a cardboard cutout “ethics” that falls over at the slightest touch. Instead I introduce Community Technology Partnerships, a methodology developed at Geeks for Social change in collaboration with Manchester School of Architecture, based on “the capability approach”. This is a human development approach used by the UN and WHO developed by Martha Nussbaum and Amartya Sen that asks what people are able to *be* and *do,* and works to remove blockers to these concrete actions and states. This approach recentres community strengths at the centre of more holistic tech interventions that restore power to the people who need it the most. Notes for this talk are here: https://gfsc.studio/emf22 about this event: https://c3voc.de

A section of an airliner wing, born in North Wales and brought up in Toulouse, France and operated in South America, now lives in the Aerospace Bristol museum. This talk shows our experiences with building it into an interactive exhibit explaining how aircraft high lift devices work, and discusses what we've learned about using hobbyist electronics for an installation that has to run 24/7 for visitors. Using videos & photos of the exhibit we also go into an explanation of how the aerodynamics, structures, performance and systems topics make the wing what it is. For over a century, Bristol has been at the forefront of aeronautical and space technology, breaking boundaries to create the fastest, the biggest and the highest. Aerospace Bristol entertains & informs visitors with stories of human endeavour, individual genius and ordinary people achieving extraordinary things. about this event: https://c3voc.de

For years I've dreamed of building a scale model of a large railway station in the UK. I've also want to fully automate that layout, running trains in "real time" because I like a challenge. A few years ago I discovered that Network Rail provide access to loads of their data for free, and the part of me that loves half-baked ideas said "You could use that to run the model railway instead of coding it all yourself" In this talk, I'll be talking about my progress so far, what the challenges have been, and where I want to go next with it, as well as talking about how you can do the same using cheap hardware and open-source software. Now all I need is a large field to build a scale model of Cardiff Central... about this event: https://c3voc.de

"The Enigma Machine was an electro-mechanical device used in the mid-20th century to encrypt communications. An ingeniously simple and elegant combination of cogs, wires and lamps, all fitting into a portable case, it provided some of the strongest encryption possible at the time. During various Covid-19 lockdowns, I decided to re-enact this important development in the history of computing, through a project to build an Enigma machine at home, using modern components and digital design techniques. The completed project is made out of cheap hobby electronics parts and laser-cut wood, and can be assembled entirely by hand, with no gluing, screwing or soldering. I will reflect on what this process taught me about the challenges of electromechanical computing, security and usability, the changes in modern manufacturing and supply chains, and their impact on computing. This will be followed by a Q&A and a demonstration where you can see the home-made Enigma machine in action and have a go at encrypting and decrypting a message." about this event: https://c3voc.de

Scratch is a programming environment aimed at children ages 8 to 16. It's simple and easy to learn, but lacks many features that experienced programmers have come to expect, such as version control, bitwise operators, or integers! This talk provides a high-level overview of authenticated encryption with ChaCha20-Poly1305, and X25519 Elliptic-Curve Diffie-Hellman key exchange (both used in modern protocols), and how we overcame the challenges of implementing them efficiently in Scratch. The talk is aimed at those with an intermediate background in programming and maths, but not necessarily cryptography. Hopefully I'll make modern cryptography look a bit less inscrutable, while also showing that Scratch is a "real" programming language. about this event: https://c3voc.de

Placeholder for the first Lightning Talks session about this event: https://c3voc.de

You put a bunch of scooters online and you have an app that can tell you if you're near one so you can hire it. But what can people do with that knowledge? What can you figure out if you can track a scooter's position in real time? What insight do you have into businesses? And how do you do this in the first place? This talk covers how to reverse engineer an app so you can obtain information yourself, poor design choices that allowed extraction of terrifying amounts of data, and a really cool picture that turns out to basically be a Chinese railway map but with extra steps. about this event: https://c3voc.de

What, exactly, does a gender transition involve? Over time, it has increasingly become the case that there is no simple answer. The degree to which people can now pick and choose what they want in terms of (de)masculinizing and (de)feminizing effects/procedures is astonishing - even to many transgender people and medical professionals providing them care. Much of this customization is especially attractive to non-binary (neither strictly male nor female) individuals. From simply unbundling things that have historically been considered package deals to experimental surgeries and outright biohacking... come learn about the gender transition "secret menu", compared and contrasted with the traditional options. This talk will cover the following topics: Social transition (briefly), including presentation, pronouns and name changes. Medical transition, including hormone replacement therapy, surgeries and specialized drug regimens. about this event: https://c3voc.de

A few of us struggle with completing projects. They pile up, often literally. A multitude of unhelpful feelings follow. Project management tools help but never seem to address what really holds us back. We start a new project, and the pattern repeats. You are invited to break this cycle. Come gain a deeper awareness of what stands between you and the future-you who finishes what they start. Leave with an alternative perspective of space and time, some solid strategies for overcoming barriers, and the confidence that your next project will be different. about this event: https://c3voc.de

Sound effects are often heard but not explored. In this talk I will explain what goes into the process of creating video game sound effects, the way they impact a scene and how the smallest changes can make a massive difference to video games. Join me as I show you how I create sounds for video games, why sound matters and helps players immerse themselves into the game's story and world. about this event: https://c3voc.de

In 1939 World War 2 started and the British Council—Britain's shiny new organisation for overseas cultural relations and propaganda—inherited the suddenly-closed tourist board's film-making department. Tourism films are no use in a war, so the Council turned their topics towards more cultural content as a softer kind of propaganda. Thus began a decade of film production that would have phenomenal overseas impact but be almost totally forgotten in Britain. Between 1940–1950, the British Council produced over 120 short documentary-style films about life in Britain covering sports, manufacturing, landscapes, art, architecture, public healthcare, the justice system, democratic process, public institutions like the National Trust and the BBC, and more besides. A far cry from the Ministry of Information's rigid style, this collection features some of the earliest works by winning cinematographers Geoffrey Unsworth (2001: A Space Odyssey, Cabaret, Superman), and Jack Cardiff (A Matter of Life and Death, Black Narcissus, The Red Shoes). Distributed to over 100 countries worldwide, the films are stunning, dated, funny, and bizarre by turn. They depict beautiful countrysides, optimistic cities, strong industry, forward-thinking social structures, and hardworking, happy people. They depict exactly the popular image of 1940s Britain that persists to this day... That may not be a coincidence. In this talk I'll cover the history and development of this film collection, how it was shaped, who saw the films, their staggering success, and their untold global legacy. about this event: https://c3voc.de

Should we really be trying to make our tech indistinguishable from magic? Is there dark magic in tech? And what does that have to do with a teleporting duck in a classroom?! We often hold creating 'a magical experience' as a key goal for design - it's fun, engaging, sometimes even playful, and it makes complex things look simple. But technological magic has a dark side too, especially when trying to help people learn and feel confident about technology. By its nature, magic you experience is not under your control: it's a trick, and you're not supposed to be able to understand it; magic is inscrutable, and for many, that's disempowering. In designing the BBC micro:bit and surrounding tools, we've thought a lot about the balance between the positive and the negative sides of creating of a magical experience. This talk will reflect on our struggle to balance technical authenticity and honesty with the need to provide a high quality experience that excites and inspires students. It will explain how we attempt to present simple, understandable analogs of more complicated, magical technology in order to help students gain a sense confidence with the tech around them. However, it will also look at how we've resorted to using our own bits of (nearly) invisible magic to make this all work nicely in a classroom. Through this discussion we'll look in detail at the presentation of the micro:bit's IO, the way the micro:bit's USB interface works, the microphone privacy LED, the web-based compiler and the simple radio communication. Finally, I will look beyond micro:bit at how using this concept of balancing transparency and magic can help us build better, more trustworthy tech. about this event: https://c3voc.de

Stickers are an essential part of our culture, our values. Stickers are everywhere! But why? This talk will provide serious, evidence-based insights into the newest developments of the evolving discipline „Sticker Research“, including an overview of the the most recent peer-reviewed publications, highlighting the most valuable facts and findings. (And some stickers, of course.) ==> Update 2022-06-04 ~12 am - temporary agenda + Terminology + History of sticker science + Where are we now? Current developments. + Panini-Psychology: only the next hype? + Stickers and Covid: Remote Sticker Operation Center (“RStOC”) + Take-aways (do not include physical stickers) about this event: https://c3voc.de

Every year we collect more data than before, and the tools we use to manage that data are evolving to accommodate our changing needs - but it can be difficult to keep up with all the innovations! This session will give you a tour of what's happening in open source databases, from someone who lives the adventures of open source data in her day job. You will travel from the well-trodden paths of relational databases, through the leafy glades of time series, to the landmarks of search and document databases. This session is recommended for people with an interest in software who want to learn about the overall trends, license changes, rising stars, and which database technologies are here to stay. about this event: https://c3voc.de

I'm an artist creating interactive installations. The hardest part is devising open-ended interaction, spaces that invite people to reveal their authentic selves, and to connect with those around. But trends in technology have gone in the opposite direction. Whether it's for usability, profit, safety, profit or 'sparking joy', or profit (it's usually profit), 'User Experience Design' was the flavour of the 2010s. Human-Computer Interaction has become a very planned affair. And the more planned it gets, the less room there is for the ambiguous messy bits that make us human. Could it be another way? Presenting... ✯✯✯ Rewilding Human-Computer Interaction ✯✯✯ where, instead of designing micromanaged user experiences, we create open-ended spaces that embrace the unknown, the messy and the human. The ills of the online world are not problems inherent to its users but to systems that prevent those users from existing fully as humans. The solution is not more design, but more wildness. Soapbox aside, I do have a speculative project to share on this front. In a collaboration with artist/AI researcher Panagiotis Tigas, we've been training Variational Autoencoders on improvised dance, and from these devising personalised interfaces that respond to creative movement. The resulting system allows you to move through a 16-dimensional parameter space while following the intuitions of the body. As an entangled black box system, I can't explain how to use it, but it can be learnt by the body through exploration and play. We have it here at EMF as in Latent Voyage, letting you navigate the hallucinatory latent space of an image generating AI. about this event: https://c3voc.de

A demonstration and discussion around amateur paging. This year I will be providing a pager transmitter at EMF that primarily will announce the talk/event schedule (amongst other things yet to be dreamt up over a pint). This talk will give an overview of the specific flavour of pagers used for this system, the hardware used to build the transmitter, the amateur paging network trying to keep this relic of communication alive and some of the more interesting ways of receiving pages (e.g. turning a badge into a pager). Of course this assume everything goes to plan and works as expected, there is a non-zero probability some parts of talk will change from "this is how this works" to "this is how this should work, but this is why it does not". about this event: https://c3voc.de

A talk about how I set up a local CoderDojo club in my small market town; how I gathered together a group of like-minded people to become mentors; how I persuaded the 7-16 year olds of the town to give coding a whirl; how we won over the pensioners' gardening club, who thought children should be seen and not heard; and how over 5 years the kids became mentors and the mentors became lasting friends. about this event: https://c3voc.de

An audience interactive event; where willing volunteers collide with GPT-3 AI to present an informative, intellectual and light-hearted presentation to a receptive crowd. Unfortunately, they don't get to see the presentation before they talk about it! Powerpoint Karaoke will feature a selection of AI titled packs for attendees to present with only a moment to see what they’re about to talk about. The presentations will be interesting but we can't promise they'll be informative! With the rise of crypto-nonsense, washing machines bricked by ransomware and whatever the metaverse is never has there been a better time for people to take the stage and attempt to convince everyone that they know better than the AI overlord telling them what to talk about. Winners will be rewarded with a suitably terrible trophy for display in their office cubicle of choice, praised highly for their public speaking skills, and maybe get promotions by listing ‘Ideation and Blue Sky Thinktalking’ on LinkedIn. about this event: https://c3voc.de