University of Pretoria Partners with University of Cambridge Synthetic Biologist to Build User-Friendly Electrical Engineering Capacity

What does the average biologist have to do with programming microprocessors? Everything, as it turns out! This is the vision of an exciting initiative funded by the UK’s Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) to build capacity in practical applications of open-source environmental sensors, 3D printing technology, Arduino micro-controllers and graphical programming that enthusiasts can implement in DIY projects without prior experience in how to code.

The GCRF pump-priming funding has allowed Biomaker activities to extend to African countries including Ghana, Egypt, Ethiopia and the University of Pretoria in South Africa. The programme disseminated Biomaker training and starter kits including a suite of Shenzhen-manufactured environmental sensors and low-cost devices, accompanied by useful online tutorials on how to programme DIY prototypes using simplified XOD graphical programming. Co-ordinated by Dr Steven Hussey, a Senior Lecturer affiliated with FABI, Prof. Haseloff presented a two-day workshop from 12-13 November 2019 hosted by the UP Makerspace. Over 20 undergraduate and postgraduate students and UP researchers from diverse departments across the university - a quarter of them associated with the Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute (FABI) - rapidly mastered basic Arduino circuitry and simple-to-use 4D programmable touchscreens to create simple device prototypes. Among those designed within a few hours of learning was a device that monitored soil moisture levels, ambient temperature and even seismic disturbances, sounding an alarm when parameters deviated from a threshold value.