TOM: Melbourne Makeathon for Assistive Technology
TOM: Tikkun Olam Makers is a global movement that connects designers, developers and engineers with people with disabilities to develop technological solutions for everyday challenges.
TOM: Melbourne was a three-day Makeathon in partnership with Swinburne University of Technology, to develop affordable, assistive technology that addresses the needs of people with disabilities.
Makedo founder Paul Justin was in attendance, adding his creative expertise as one of the Makers at the Melbourne Makeathon.
The event focused on creating prototypes, bringing together social activism and open innovation, and working directly with people in need to address areas where market forces fail.
Teams of Makers - engineers, product designers, innovators and problem solvers, connected with Need Knowers - individuals with a deep understanding of a specific disability or challenge, to develop hardware and software prototypes.
Over three amazing days a group of talented individuals experienced how tinkering and technology can impact lives.
For more information, please visit www.aus.tomglobal.org
Take a moment and imagine what you want. Describe your challenges and TOM will connect you with Makers that can develop a solution with you.
TOM: Melbourne is looking for Need Knowers individuals with a personal understanding of the needs of people with disabilities. In most cases these are the ones living with disabilities themselves; in others, these are relatives, caregivers or professionals.
At a TOM Makeathon, Need Knowers are critical to teams working alongside the Makers through each stage of prototyping.
Calling all designers, developers, engineers and anyone who loves creating. At TOM, Makers are the ones that execute every stage of the prototype, turning an idea into a reality.
The maker culture in general supports open-source hardware. Typical interests enjoyed by the maker culture include engineering-oriented pursuits, electronics, robotics, 3-D printing, industrial design and the use of CNC tools, as well as more traditional activities such as metalworking, woodworking and mainly, its predecessor, the traditional arts and crafts.
