WHAT IS THE BAN WORKSHOP?'Ban' means clay in Wolof, the most spoken language in Senegal.Clay is a foundational material in Senegal. Pottery played a major role in shaping the culture of several ethnic groups who have an ancestral history of working with clay, notably through the use of hand building techniques to craft objects tailored for everyday purposes. However, today we are sadly losing the practice of this vital traditional art.The creation of Ban Workshop has been inspired by the practice of pottery in Senegal and more importantly by a small community of professional potters established in Dakar. Amadou, Cheikh and Aboubacar fell into pottery in their teenage years through a twist of fate. Like many people in Senegal, they could not afford any classical form of education but received a training that taught them to master this craft.Pottery was fundamental to their upbringing; it gave them a purpose and became a life-changer. Together with Imann (the founder), the four realised the potential for pottery to be considered as an emancipatory practice, one that could enact social change, the same way it impacted their respective lives. We are raising funds to open the Ban Workshop pottery centre in March 2020 in Dakar, Senegal.Our aim is to preserve the practice of traditional Senegalese pottery while introducing potters to contemporary techniques and to offer free pottery training to young underprivileged people.To sustain ourselves and promote pottery practice in Dakar, we have designed a range of functional objects using traditional hand building techniques to cater for the needs of the Senegalese clientele, and beyond. Our economic model is committed to reinvesting the profits into ethical pay and social training, a central point in the growth and sustainability of the workshop. The Ban Workshop will offer free training to children and young adults who — due to financial constraints — have limited access to classical forms of education. This is why we need your support! WHAT ARE THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL IMPACTS?The Ban Workshop aim is to become self-sustainable, it means that we are creating employment opportunities for potters, and tangible prospects for our future trainees.Ban Workshop is a journey where we see pottery as an emancipatory practice. Indeed, by providing free pottery training for underprivileged people, pottery will contribute to the wellbeing of our trainees and learn them new ways of expression. Ban Workshop wants to alleviate the feeling of marginalisation that is embedded and triggered by social and economic disadvantages.It is a place where we hope to inspire future generations to shed the light on the life of their communities and to be active — as opposed to be simple witnesses — in creating social change. HOW WILL WE SUSTAIN OURSELVES?To start with, our range of glazed pottery will be sold in our Dakar’s workshop. We are proud of our team of potters/teachers who joined the Ban Workshop with their existing and faithful clientele, acquired over the years. Parallel to selling our range of utilitarian products, we will implement classes and workshops for adults who wish to create their own objects, as well as workshops for kids and other birthdays’ workshops. Finally, we will propose our services to schools, organisations, and companies who internally promote team building programs, etc. The majority of our clientele is composed of conscious consumers with an interest for local craft and who claim to be sensitive to social matters. Nonetheless, we do equally consider the crowd of tourists and visitors, as well as commercial businesses (restaurants, hotels, etc.) who could be looking for products “Made in Senegal”.RISK AND CHALLENGES TrainingAcquiring machines and equipment is one step, but we also need the potters to run them. Our three potters all master ancestral and handbuilding techniques, two of them can also throw on the pottery wheel, but none is familiar to glazing. We are confident in our designs, as well as the potential interest from the community to take classes. However, we need to complete our potters training to be able to deliver long lasting and finished products to our clientele. For this to happen we need to secure enough money to pay for our visiting professional ceramicist and the glazing material.Social impactIt takes a long time, dedication and an entire community to prove the people around you that there is value in education as well as to demonstrate the virtues of art and culture. Like our potters’ journey, the results are only visible in the long run but are worth the investment. Before being the colossal Baobab as we know it, the tree was planted as a seed! Everyone who understands knows that big things are achieved through small steps.  Every little helps and anyone can be an agent of change.

OverviewNybble is the lightest and fastest robotic cat that really walks. Built on an open source platform, Nybble has endless possibilities in the way you can "teach" tricks, behaviors, and CAT-itude as you program it and help it grow. You can even mount a Raspberry Pi to help Nybble think! Nybble is also the first product of OpenCat, the most respected DIY project on Hackster.io. Check out how Nybble would grow up to, and make friends by communicating with other Nybble owners!Nybble is not only a robotic cat that walks, it's a new type of pet - an advanced robotic kitten that YOU bring to life with a small computer, customizable software, a basic components kit, and whatever upgrades you can imagine!Nybble's motion is driven by an Arduino compatible micro-controller. It stores instinctive "muscle memory" to move around. An optional AI chip, such as Raspberry Pi can be mounted on top of Nybble's back, to help Nybble with perception and decision. You can program in your favorite language, and direct Nybble walk around simply by sending short commands, such as "walk" or "turn left"!Follow the instructions, or don’t.You can check the most current tutorial. We also have a tutorial playlist with detailed instructions.Stick with the included software, find hacks and customizations from the worldwide community, or push the envelope and write your own mods.Think up your own look and bring it to life with paint, craft supplies, 3D printing, or whatever else feels right.Join our growing community on our website www.petoi.com, make friends, challenge each other and each other’s kittens.WOW! Look at all the press our little kitten has gotten! TechCrunch! IEEE Spectrum! Steemhunt! MagPi!  e are also very grateful to Indiegogo for helping us reach our goal and featuring us in their newsletter!Features3D puzzle frameNybble's frame is an easily assemble-able puzzle. The wooden frame is a retro design in honor of its popstick framed ancestor. The wisdom of traditional Chinese woodwork was borrowed to make the major frame screw-free. Detailed assembling instructions will be available. Or...challenge yourself and try to solve the puzzle on your own!NyBoardWe have designed an all-in-one controller we call the NyBoard V0 to ease the wiring and future development. Besides the ATmega328P chip (the same one on Arduino Uno), we used a faster crystal and added external EEPROM for storing more instincts. It has on-board power management with tunable output, various communication and controlling ports, and an optimized layout.We pushed the layout precision to 0.25mm, to fit the geometry not only for Nybble, but also for Raspberry Pi and your favorite extension boards. It was designed to avoid all the tall components on Pi that may conflict with installation. Its 2x5 communication socket accepts the pins on Pi. It powers Pi, listens to Pi, and there’s a jumper switch for changing I2C master. If you have another preferred chip to ATmega328P, just take full control of the board! The on-board chip can still watch the battery level for you. The blue chip has to be soldered based on your favorite orientation. We'll be offering variables in our detailed instructions.You do need to design a mount if the optional screw holes don’t match your board. By attaching a Pi or other AI chips, you will be able to add more talents to Nybble, make it listen, see, and think.NyBoard is in its second version. The third version is still at PCBA services and the color or arrangement subject to change. Our NyBoard has to go through FCC and CE certificates and that will be the major challenge to have Nybble delivered on time but we'll be doing our best! Check out the user manual here!Joint tunerNybble is adorable, but it’s still a precise instrument. To make it walk, it takes patience and precision. To help you through the challenges, we also include a nice gadget, the “L” tuner for calibrating your Nybble at times. Just turn Nybble to calibration mode and align the observation windows, type proper calibrations and Nybble will remember them at once.Learn programming with NybbleAfter assembling Nybble, some entry level computer skills are required to upload the code and tune Nybble to walking order. You'll need a little willingness to learn and teach it new tricks! The bigger picture behind NybbleOver the 2.5 years’ evolution of OpenCat, a rough framework is becoming clearer. It started from a Raspberry Pi kit, introduced an Arduino as the central pattern generator, and will accept any extensions that’s needed. As long as you have a precise and powerful actuator, you can scale Nybble up to a dog, a horse, or even an elephant!Check out our GitHub repository at https://github.com/PetoiCamp/OpenCat and you're invited to build it together!Nybble is for everyone!  If you like graceful cats, tiny computers, hackable software, customizable models, or connecting with new friends around the world, back this project!If you’re flying solo and just want to enjoy making Nybble yours, you can hack, reprogram, paint, decorate and pose your Nybble in any way you can imagine.  If you’re looking for a fun and meaningful group project for your family or classroom, this tiny kitten brings out the best in people, unlocking curiosity and joy.We know that with Nybble, we can break the barrier between those million dollar quadruped robots and individual makers. Nybble will also be less intimidating to kids who want to learn about robotics, programming, and making in general.Impressed with Boston Dynamics robots? Why not try Nybble first? Nybble is a small step that an individual maker takes to overcome obstacles and bring his creation to the world. Nybble is also a bridge to fuse cool technologies, and connect the developers around it. Your support will define Nybble's future!We need your help! Nybble can accomplish great things if given the freedom to do so. This is a one time investment with a worldwide community always adding its values.By starting out on Indiegogo, we’re avoiding a lot of the problems that companies usually have when they start something new. We are highly interested in your feedback in how you train Nybble, how you customize your kitten, and how you hack it!We don’t want to tell you what Nybble is. You tell us.Indiegogo is also a platform that reaches many different kinds of people with varying interest. In order to get a full assessment of what Nybble can do and what it can become, we need everyone to pitch in and give their feedback. From the highest levels of engineering to the youngest kids playing with Nybble, we can't wait to see the outcome!We would like to scale up production, bring down manufacturing costs with higher order volumes and smarter processes. The more Nybbles find a home, the more affordable we can make our kits!Below is a snapshot of Nybble kit. Nothing special, right? Note some parts may subject to change as I finalize every bit, such as color, length, and number of screws.Parts not included are mini USB to USB cable (make sure you google mini USB and micro USB and understand their difference), 2 x 14500 3.7 V Li-ion batteries and a smart charger. Be careful with fake batteries that claim more than 850mAh capacity. I also noticed that batteries with overcurrent protection would cause NyBoard to reboot, because the peak current drawn by 11 servos can be very high! I've been using EBL 14500 3.7V 800mAh batteries and they work well. If you are out of US and find a working battery in your area, please share your knowledge with our community! More sets of batteries will allow you play longer with Nybble by swapping. I usually keep programming all night with one pair of batteries, but they would die out quickly if you just play with Nybble as a remote controlled toy.Rongzhong (Rz) LiFounder and CEORz is a physics PhD and computer science master. He was previously an educator at Wake Forest University.Rz is a maker, photographer, poet, interdisciplinary explorer.  Wenxiao HuangCo-founderWenxiao is a PhD in physics and master in computer science. He is currently a researcher at Stanford Univeristy. Nothing special, just a crazy scientist.  Jian YuPCB designerPhD student in computer vision.Jian has a ton of experience working in the embedded system industry and skilled in hardware design and has strong interests in robotics.

OverviewThe Doksta app is a study tool specially designed for African medical students. It features a high quality question bank for board prep, networking platform and other tools medical students need to be competitive both locally and internationally. Since launching ~1 month ago, we've welcomed over 100 users on our platform! This is exciting for us, but we want to do more. With your help, we can get this excellent resource to 500 more students for free!About usDoksta MedEd was borne ~2 years ago after some Nigerian medical students shared some of the challenges of preparing for medical board exams with us. We knew we had to do something to help fix this, so we created the Doksta app. The Doksta App delicately brings together key elements (including accessibility, content, confidence boost, and opportunities for collaboration) for improved learning efficiency and retention. Simply put, we help medical students learn better in less time, and provide a mobile platform for them to network with other professionals while at it. Our journey so farSince the idea for Doksta was conceived, we have worked hard to develop an excellent mobile app that houses many of the tools an average medical student needs to be successful in the 21st century. First, we have developed a growing question bank of over 1500 of some of the highest quality questions. Next, we have created a networking platform for medical students from across Africa. Since launching less than 2 months ago, we have welcomed well over 100 medical students, and continue to welcome new members every day! We are thrilled by the response we have received and we are eager to get this tool into the hands of even more students. Why is this so important?It is common knowledge that African medical students and physicians are among the most talented in the world. It is no wonder that they succeed and often outperform their counterparts once given the right tools to succeed. Sadly, these tools are often not readily available, or when available are way too expensive for the average student. From outdated "past questions" and limited access to networking platforms, the average medical student in Africa is frustrated with the status quo. Our goal is simple, through the Doksta app, we want to remove the "wahala" out of professional exam preparations and give African medical students the tools they need to excel! How can you help us? Doksta is affordably priced, with a goal of reaching as many medical students as possible. Our competitors set their prices in the hundreds of dollars, but we know that this is not feasible for the average African medical student. Our goal is not to make bucket loads of money, but to make sure these students have the tools they need to succeed. This is why we need your help. In the next 60 days, we will like to get our app into the hands of 500 more medical students. Our goal is to provide a free 1-year subscription for them. This will not just help them excel, but will show them how they can have a richer and better medical experience with Doksta. It will also help us learn what we can improve on to better serve these students.  Doksta is priced at $35 (12, 000 NGN) for access to 3 subjects per year. We are asking you to sponsor as many students as you are able to and give them an opportunity at a much better learning experience.  Long term goal The Doksta app has the potential to help standardize the medical curriculum across Africa, improve first time pass rates, and ensure that medical students are not just prepared to practice excellent medicine here in Africa, but also around the world. By helping more medical students, we are creating more excellent physicians and increasing the doctor to patient ratio across Africa. This is not just some lofty goal, this is a practical step that has the potential to save real lives.Our Team Our team is made up of highly successful professionals in medicine, education, and software engineering, with a common goal of supporting the African medical student. Highly trained from local and international prestigious institutions including Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Duke University, Carnegie Mellon, and Harvard University, they possess the requisite skill set to develop a winning product. More importantly however, all our team members are African born and/or raised, and have a personal connection to the problem and a hunger to find a solution. We are determined to get it right for these medical students, and we just need your help to achieve this goal! If you've read this far, we already know you believe in our work and we are grateful. So what are you waiting for? Why not jump in and sponsor some students to try DOKSTA? ...alternatively,If you are unable to support with funds, we believe there's always a part that each of us can play in making the world (and in this situation, African Medical Education) a better place, so please help us spread the word by sharing this link with your friends, family and colleagues. Together, let's revolutionize medical education in Africa.

In the current industrial robots, delta robot is the champion of execution speed. There have been many startups that create desktop robot models simulating the shapes and outstanding features of the industrial articulated arm robot. However, no one has ever done it with the delta robot.   The delta robot really intrigued us of its speed and versatility. We therefore created the Delta X - a robot project for the community.Delta X is the world's first open source delta robot kit with mechanical hardware designed for easy 3D printing and assembly.The firmware is optimized to be able to run on the Arduino board. All electric components are common for community. Delta X is both a complete desktop robot and a modular kit. Delta X can be combined with a lot of end effectors to do a lot of tasks. In addition, the difference of Delta X with other robot models is the ability of speed and flexibility in working area.           With a suction cup, Delta X performs very fast and continuous suction actions   Mount Delta X anywhere, for example above the conveyors for manufacturing tasks. The use of a laser head for delta robots is really crazy, but you can do it with Delta X. Although Delta X is not exactly specialized laser machine, we can still do a lot of practical applications with Delta X laser engraver.For example, hard paper cutting.  Create your own memorable laser-engraved photos. Delta 3D printers is only suitable for Prismatic-Input delta robot. Revolut-input delta robot lacks precision, just suitable for picking and placing. We are surprised that Delta X can do 3D printing job despite the fact that the quality of product is not as good as normal 3D printers. We do not recommend you to do this but you can use Delta X to cheat applications on smartphones.     We can control Delta from many control devices such as computers, smartphones, programming boards, etc. via wired and wireless connections such as bluetooth and wifi.     Delta X is a unique desktop robot for those who love robots.        Delta X is a great tool for robotics research from high to low levels. Among industrial robots, delta robots have the highest academic difficulty.Delta X has a lot of features but it is super cheap so everyone can access it.We think every robot laboratory and maker space should own a Delta X.   Usually, to solve the kinematics math issues for robots, especially with the delta robots, it will require more calculations, people often use strong boards such as embedded computer, FPGA, ... But we decided to use the Arduino mega 2560 circuit board to make the controller circuit for Delta X because the Arduino is popular with everyone. We have been working for a year to optimize the embedded programs so that it can work well on Arduino.   We also use always ramps shield to connect to other modules. The electric part of Delta X is exactly the same one used on a RepRap 3D printer.     People can find easy purchases of such electric parts to replace or install themselves a Delta X. As for the additional circuits we will provide the principle diagram and PCB for everyone.    Coming with Delta X, there is an open source software written in C ++ on the Qt framework with the features similar to industrial robotics software. When researching the open source of the software coming with our documentation provided, you will learn a lot about C ++, Qt, 2 libraries that are very difficult and important with robots like OpenGl and OpenCV.    Because of being written on the Qt framework, the software can be run on all three operating systems: Windows, Ubuntu, and MacOS.     Delta X is packaged as a CNC machine, only receiving G-code commands sent to the serial port (UART). So we can control Delta X from many control devices such as computers, smartphones, programming boards, etc. via wired and wireless connections such as bluetooth and wifi.    There are three reasons for us to create Delta X:- When doing projects that require an arm with speed and flexibility, people often choose delta robot models and have to rebuild from the beginning such as designing hardware to solving kinematics problems, write executable codes, ... These things take too long so people often can not focus on the main features of the projects. There are too few documents and sample projects about delta robots on the Internet.- There are too many desktop robots that mimic common arm robots, but none of them have simulated how the delta robots, a really cool industrial robot, works.- We are from Vietnam, a country with a proud history. But in terms of science and technology, we still have many limitations. Most of our automation products have to be imported from abroad. With the desire of localizing most of the domestic industrial machines, we decided to research and produce our own robots. So our beginning was to create Delta X, a robot capable of performing manufacturing tasks. Since there was no initial funding, we decided to build the software for the robot first, designing a low-cost delta robot optimized for hardware design to test the programs. We look forward to the success of Dela X so that we can afford to build a complete delta robot of mechanical hardware that can be used in the factory production environment.Risks and challenges- Challenges:+ With the goal to create an open source robot close to our community, we chose Arudino Mega 2560 to be the main control circuit board for Delta X. This is really challenging because the delta robot needs the chip which is faster and has more memory than the other robot models. We also have to build firmware programs in C ++ with clear codes so that everyone can understand. Over the past year, we have continually optimized and improved the program so that all algorithms and subprograms can run smoothly together, utilize all memory, execute speed and control the mechanical part to its limits.+ Delta X is a cheap robot that anyone can make for their own, so designing to reduce costs but still achieve efficiency is really a challenge. We have gone through many versions to achieve this final one.- Risks:The next product will be called Delta X Pro, an upgraded version of Delta X in hardware and software. Delta X Pro will be a high-end desktop robot and an affordable industrial robot. However, we are running out of money and may only have a few more months if Delta X fails. If Delta X succeeds, Delta X Pro will be fundraised on Kickstarter in December next year. We hope to build a robot ecosystem for our country. Hope it will come true! Thank you everyone!