Tuesday, August 25, 2015

Bohol Maker Fest 2015

bohol maker fest 2015

The event was awesome. Hands down. The Maker Fest started to run from July 23-25, 2015 at Island City Mall coinciding with the Sandugo Trade Expo and the Sandugo Fest. It was a three day rush of technology, enthusiasm, and opportunities for Bohol and it's people. It sucked that I was only able to catch it's last day, though.

The three-day event was full of exhibits, talks, and free workshops. You can check the event schedule on their website, which I think was really cool because despite it being a weebly site, they were able to create this central source of information that would be easily accessible to their target audience. Again, very cool.

bohol maker fest 2015

The festival had one central display area for all the projects they features located at the center of the mall. I was partly expecting it to be in the activity hall but I was pleasantly surprised to see it at the second floor in between the two elevators. That meant everybody and anybody who wanted to go anywhere in the mall had to pass by the exhibit. The location brought us quite a crowd. Thumbs up to you, Alturas!

The projects being displayed at the exhibit were just as diverse as they were ingenious. They ranged from motion sensors that could assist the visually impaired to a motorcycle that surprised many of its passengers; there's something for everyone.

The bottom-left picture form the above's photoset shows PrintBit's Roy Bayonas posing with his water and electricity consumption monitoring system. The device is attached to the establishment's water and electricity meters and, with a dashboard, will enable you to control how much water or electricity you want to consume that month. It shows you the status of your utility consumption and helps you manage them, helping you make the most out of your resources. Cool!

bohol maker fest 2015

A few wacky inventions I found was an Arduino-powered light stick. The device rapidly flashes a series of light sequences, whose speed is monitored by a small switch on its back. When in motion, the series of lights generate the programmed imagery. Guess what this one says!

bohol maker fest 2015

Perks of a community manager. Thanks for the gift, guys!

bohol maker fest 2015

The event had a great lineup of speakers. From digital marketing to community innovation, it got 'em all. It was particularly inspiring to see folk that weren't from Bohol tell their story of how they worked hard to make the country a better place and make money at the same time. The fact that they wanted to extend their services and benefits to the people of Bohol were a great plus. 

bohol maker fest 2015

I fangirled a little as I got to meet Earl Valencia, President of Ideaspace. I've always looked up to their engagement with the community and their effort with connecting through grassroots level. Someday, I'm going to work for you, Ideaspace. Someday.

I especially liked the bit where he said that Bohol has its strong points in agriculture and tourism and that we had to focus our efforts on our existing strengths rather than add friction to sectors that we're initially not as strong at.

bohol maker fest 2015

Being part of the ICT council, I've got some perks here and there. Booyah.

bohol maker fest 2015

After the talks, I went back to the exhibit area to check out mor of the booths. We've got 3D printed sunglass frames, a robot that helps sort medicine in specialized medicinal trays, a solar-powered gardening system made by a friend (go Holynamians!), and accessories made out of used beer caps and preserved dog jaw bone.

I even got my hands dirty as I tried making my own bottle-cap keychain. Thanks for the tutorial, Tommy!

bohol maker fest 2015

At the end of the day, it was all about the people. It was great seeing everyone in the Bohol tech community again and I'm excited to see what's in store for us! (shoutout to Charles for letting me sneak around and be annoying haha) Perhaps the planned Startup Weekend Tourism Edition? Or being the next Geeks On A Beach hosts? Who knows. Just keep swimming guys! I'll join you back home soon!

bohol maker fest 2015

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