Our system for indicating whether we’re Open or Closed just keeps getting more and more cool.

Bob and Ted have been busy again. While developing the upcoming Laser 102 course, Bob collaborated with Ted to build an enclosure for the Nova-Labs Twitter Switch. After determining proper dimensions he used the Box Maker extension for Inkscape which did all the grunt-work by generating information needed to send to the Laser cutter. Bob found that paint stripper worked great as acrylic glue. In fine Maker collaborative fashion, Ted finished up by improving faceplate legibility and installing the wiring and electronics. It’s all open-sourced and checked in to  Nova-Labs github as well. Check it out …

This is the latest in a long series of projects under the heading: Nova Labs Environment. Originally our ambition was to simply have an Open/Closed status indicator on our home page but the project grew from there. Through efforts largely from Ted we tweaked the concept through a series of ever-improving iterations.

To control our online indicator we went from soft toggle on a web page to a physical light switch toggle. A Walk/Stop sign of Jason’s was added to the mix so our storefront would show our status brightly. Sending out Open/Closed statuses to Twitter was added to the mix and most recently we created the acrylic enclosure above for the switch which also glowed green when open.

When closed the RED hand lights; when open the GREEN walker lights. Awesome!

I mentioned that this series of projects is called ‘Nova Labs Environment’ but so far we’ve only seen examples of Open/Closed status. To broaden its scope Ted added Nova Labs’ temperature into the mix. Not only does our home page now include inside temperature  but Ted is also reporting and recording thermostat data for future analysis. This environment theme has great potential and it’ll be interesting to watch it grow.

This has truly been an excellent example of geeks collaborating around a fun idea. As with most projects at Nova Labs we’re open to new contributors. If you or anyone you know would like to be a part of it then jump in. Contact others already working the project about how to get involved. Help the cause because we all want this project to soar!