Glenn Ramsey
Dr Glenn Ramsey is an engineer and software developer with a background in C++ and Python, and a growing interest in using MicroPython in places it arguably doesn’t belong. He’s particularly interested in the intersection of code and hardware, from embedded systems to automotive experiments. He approaches projects as opportunities to learn by building (and occasionally^Hfrequently breaking) things, whether that's in the workshop or under a truck. His current focus is exploring how Python can be used in the creation of backyard solutions for things that would otherwise be cost prohibitive, while learning and having fun along the way.
Session
Under duress from some of my mates I recently bought a bush truck. It has a rear mounted radiator and a couple of manually switched radiator fans that need to be operated based on the temperature gauge reading. It turns out that I am only barely capable of monitoring the gauge while keeping the vehicle pointed in the right direction so I decided to automate it. Despite there being a trivially easy and robust off-the-shelf way to do this I decided to use a microcontroller running MicroPython instead, because ... why not? This talk will describe the design, construction, coding, and performance of the system using several different control strategies.