OpenPlant, the Synthetic Biology SRI and the CamBridgeSens SRN are organising a 2017 open DIY hardware Biomaker Challenge for students and researchers in Cambridge and Norwich. (See details here: http://www.synbio.cam.ac.uk/biomakerchallenge). To help inspire planning for this, we provide below a selection of graphical links to DIY projects and resources. Hover over the graphic to see a short text descriptions, and click to navigate to the relevant web site.
High speed 4K video based focus stacking for macrophotography in the field
Website for information about the PocketCHIP and CHIP/Pro boards
Excellent guide to building low-light microscope
Instructions for construction of 3D printed microcentrifuge
Development of liquid handling robots for the classroom, using Lego Mindstorm components
Article on how-to-build DIY submarine gel electrophoresis rig
OpenMV project to build an Arduino-like system for Python-programmable machine vision experiments
DIY turbidity meter design and construction
4Duino - great device for low-cost DIY bioinstrumentation built-in touchscreen, WiFi and Arduino controller
Tutorial on how to control I/O for the 4Duino board from a web browser
martCitizen: open source platform for environmental sensing and community participation
Touch Board with contact/distance sensors for use with electric paint interface
Low cost electromechanical dispenser for pastes and viscous polymers
How to use a low cost linear CCD module for sensing, based on high sensitivity 3648 pixel TCD1304
DIY designs: electroporator, spec, centrifuge, gel electrophoresis, stirrer, Phytotron, PCR cycler, luminometer
Arduino shield for bioengineering: pH, temperature, spec, data logging, stand/sensor arm and micro heat plate
DIY microscope with pair of disk drive motors, focus motor for automated panoramas/focus stacking, and web control
Ikea Hack: modding the VÄXER, adding wifi and Arduino control to off-the-shelf hydroponics system
OpenProjectBox open source framework for creating custom sized project chassis
A toolbox of 3D printed components for opto-mechanical experiments
Open Garden, an open source Arduino platform to control pumps/sensors/valves for hydroponic and soil-grown plants
DIY CO2 sensor, non-dispersive infrared (NDIR), built-in temperature sensor
DIY multi gas sensor: carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, hydrogen, ammonia, methane
Cuvette holder with 4-way optical fibre connections for optical measurements
LEDs and detectors with built-in connectors for cheap 1mm plastic fibre optics
Super cheap way to build a fibre optic LED source
MacroscopicSolutions - with hardware ideas for high magnification imaging using focus-stacking
£120 3D printer kit
Cross-section of AeroFarms soil-free aeroponic mist plant growth system with LED lighting
Maxim hsensor platform, tiny DIY board for skin temp, heart rate & ECG, motion, rotation, barometric pressure
Miniature CO2 NDIR sensor module, battery powered, average current 30-200 uA
How-to guide to making DIY Arduino starter kits for the classroom
FarmBot video - robotised gardening with time lapse views of automated seeding, watering, weeding, growth
DIY Atomic Force Microscope with smartphone control
Arduino shield with simultaneous RFID reader M6E Nano
Build a centrifuge out of e-waste
Lume Cubes small, sealed LED light sources
New super macro lens from Zhong Yi Optics
Faster software driver library for ESP8266 chip and TFT screen
Open LED illuminator - simple, professional quality 2-colour microscope illuminator
Arduino compatible shield: Climatic+F for logging CO2 concentration, temperature, humidity and pressure
AirSensor: Arduino shield with CO2/temp/humidity sensors
LedSee Arduino shield 4 or 6 channel high-power LED controllers
Modular CustoBlocks for Arduino and Raspberry Pi prototyping assemblies
Collection of 12 best 3D printable Arduino cases
Open source science tricorder project - DIY handheld device packed with sophisticated sensors
Hammamatsu ultra-compact spectrometer head integrating MEMS and image sensor technologies
Useful board for prototyping Arduino-based bioinstrumentation
Index of 140 plant image analysis software packages
Standardised documentation of hardware
Full instructions for a DIY biolistic gene gun in O’Reilly BioCoder
Download review/how-to for new PiCam2 for Raspberry Pi
Toolbox for Exploring Modular Gene Regulation in Synthetic Biology Training
Online index and rankings for scientific tools
Website for new Cambridge University Synthetic Biology Society
AutoOpenScope project for CUSBS
Pixeltec 8-band sensor array for narrow band VIS-NIR use
Cambridge-JIC iGEM’s ultra-cheap 3D-printed motorised web-streaming autofocus microscope
DevDuino Sensor Node: Arduino-compatible microcontroller for wireless sensor network
Wio Node + step-by-step instructions for diy online irrigation system
Wio Node: tiny counterpart to Wio Link - smartphone, wifi and Grove compatible IoT device
Check out OpenAgriculture, weather recipes and the Personal Food Computer at MIT
20 cool automation projects: candidates for Hackaday prize
Arduino prototyping platform: Evive
Arduino prototyping platform: Evive
Innovative microfluidic device with on-chip DNA assembly and electroporation
PiBakery: software to bake a customised SD card for a headless wifi’d RaspberryPi
ClearVolume realtime 3D viz library for building DIY volumetric microscopes or hacking
Microbox containers for plant culture with hermetically closing covers and range of filters for gas exchange
Low cost supplies and protocols from the NCBE inc. £80 centrifuge, £21 pipettes, enzymes and education kits
On-demand biomolecular manufacturing using robust and portable freeze-dried, cell-free Tx-Tl system
MegaPi: Arduino IDE programmable motion controller with RaspberryPi control interface and mounting
Me Auriga from Makeblock, Arduino IDE programmable board with sensors/LEDs, plugin modules, motor and servo ports
OpenDrop : open source digital microfludics platform using electro-wetting for automating digital biology
DIY micro laser cutter from Hackteria
Quartz crystal microbalance (QCM), open source design capable of sensing sub-nanogram mass
Arduino shield from DTU-Denmark's design for a DIY microfermenter
BioBuilder program - check out the teaching resources
Great UK-based bio teaching resources at NCBE
Richard Bowman’s 3D printed microscope
Upright version of 3D printed microscope
DIY instructions to build a modified gene gun from Cambridge-JIC iGEM2016 team
Use of an SLA 3D printer (Form2) to print microfluidic device molds by the Uppsala iGEM2016 team
DIY Light Plate Apparatus (LPA) for microplate LED photobiology experiments
Must-see suite of open source Neptune software and DIY hardware tools for microfluidics from BostonU iGEM2016 team
Boston University use of machined perspex and solid PDMS slab sandwich for simple millifluidic design and build
100 litre scale cell-free gene expression for 100g protein production at Sutro Biopharma
Pi-top - combined RaspberryPi and prototyping solution in DIY laptop form
Detailed workarounds for installing Sierra on a high end X99 Hackintosh
Review of Mini-Labs, including Microbial Design Studio, Amino Lab and Spiderwort
3D printed toys?…”entry drugs” for young makers. Accessible devices and tools at XYZprinting
WIO Link microcontroller+wifi with Grove plugin hardware - cheap kit for teaching
The Grove system - plugin electronic modules for Arduino
Cute micro-dot displays Lite-on LTP-305
3D printer for prototyping microfluidic devices, transparent COC material and more leakproof prints
Microfluidics system for encapsulation of plant protoplasts