Covid-19: In Taiwan, a workshop to make infrared thermometers

Taking temperatures at C-LAB. © C-LAB

As shops sell out of basic supplies for the pandemic age, what better time to learn how to do-it-yourself? On April 12, the Contemporary Culture Lab (C-LAB) in Taipei launched a series of DIY anti-virus workshops for all ages, the first of which focused on transforming a Micro:bit micro-computer into an infrared thermometer.

Micro:bit thermometer © C-LAB

Organized by C-LAB’s Clusters for Experimental Technology Media (CETM), this first workshop was attended by some 20 participants, children and adults, in the former military building that now serves as C-LAB’s experimental open space. Makers Andrew Lin and Tsai Chi-Hung guided the young participants in programming and transforming the micro-computers into thermometers by adding infrared sensors. They then made cardboard cases to contain the components as they held the thermometers to their foreheads. All the documentation is available (in Chinese) on Github.

The second workshop in the anti-virus series will focus on making a UV light box to disinfect objects with ultraviolet rays.

More information on C-LAB

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