An exciting new Maker Faire arrives in the bustling center of the other Bay Area — the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macau Greater Bay Area, the most populous built-up metropolitan region in the world. With all those people, there are a lot of great ideas flying around! Produced by robotics innovators Hosted at the prestigious Guangzhou (International) Science and Technology Achievement Transformation Tianhe Base, this event promises to be the ultimate celebration of creativity and resourcefulness. Dive into a world of fascinating projects, from cutting-edge technology demonstrations to artistic masterpieces. Meet and network with fellow engineers, artists, scientists, and crafters who are eager to share their unique skills and experiments.

Read on for some project highlights and check back in for live updates throughout the weekend from Make: Community Editor David Groom in Guangzhou.

Featured Makers + Projects

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou) MoSense, a team established by a multidisciplinary group of doctoral researchers from The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), has expertise spanning microelectronics, robotics, physics, and advanced materials. The team currently consists of more than ten postgraduate researchers who possess extensive research and development experience in multimodal sensing, embodied intelligence, robotic design, and ergonomics. MoSense’s full-body tactile solution offers customizable electronic skins with various shapes and functions for different body parts, enabling robots to achieve multimodal perception. This solution has won championship titles in robotics competitions.

《Mechanical Reverence: The Bonds of Data and the Awakening Eye》
This artwork, themed around “awe,” features a hybrid human-mechanical model that delves into
AI’s impact on human identity. Set in a neon-lit, futuristic setting inspired by sci-fi films like “Westworld” and “Blade Runner,” the model resembles a puppet, symbolizing the human gazeunder technological control. It gazes at a TV showing a tiny human image, alluding to “The Truman Show” and the disintegration of self-awareness. The project includes research, sketches, model making, and a final display with dark lighting to emphasize the technological and artistic impact, encouraging reflection on humanity, control, and the future.

Olfactory Simulator: The current human-computer interaction heavily relies on sight and sound, but lacks olfactory engagement. Advances in AI, particularly in image recognition with CNNs and Transformers, along with IoT hardware improvements, make it possible to create a system that can analyze images and generate corresponding smells in real time. This project aims to use AI to interpret
visual content and trigger an olfactory device to produce matching scents, offering a new,
immersive multisensory experience.

Sensory Innovation in the Alleviation of Phantom Limb Pain
Phantom limb pain is a common neuropathic symptom experienced by amputees, and traditional
treatments like mirror therapy have limited effectiveness and lack immersion and personalized
experience. This project aims to use multimodal interaction technology, combining visual, tactile, and auditory feedback, to construct an immersive rehabilitation training system to alleviate the
phantom limb pain of patients.

EdTech Integration

Project 1: AI Smart Parking

An AI system that automatically recognizes vehicle plates for parking lots, communities, andfactories, enabling automated vehicle entry/exit and reducing costs.

Project 2: AI Plant Identification Camera

A camera kit that uses AI to identify over 20,000 plants and 8,000 flowers, useful for educationand image analysis.

Project 3: Universal Infrared Remote

A multi-functional remote that consolidates controls for various home appliances, featuring auser-friendly interface.

Project 4: CherryFamily Creation Kit

A platform for beginners to create tech projects easily, offering kits like CherryBoard for development and CherryCube for quick sensor integration. More educational kits are planned.

Day One: Saturday, October 18, 2025

Day Two: Sunday, October 19, 2025

Renowned roboticist Rodney Brooks has a wake-up call for investors pouring billions into humanoid robot startups: you’re wasting your money.

Brooks, who co-founded iRobot and spent decades at MIT, is particularly skeptical of companies like Tesla and Figure trying to teach robots dexterity by showing them videos of humans doing tasks. In a new essay, he calls this approach “pure fantasy thinking.”

The problem? Human hands are incredibly sophisticated, packed with about 17,000 specialized touch receptors that no robot comes close to matching. While machine learning transformed speech recognition and image processing, those breakthroughs built on decades of existing technology for capturing the right data. “We don’t have such a tradition for touch data,” Brooks points out.

Then there’s safety. Full-sized walking humanoid robots pump massive amounts of energy into staying upright. When they fall, they’re dangerous. Physics means a robot twice the size of today’s models would pack eight times the harmful energy.

Brooks predicts that in 15 years, successful “humanoid” robots will actually have wheels, multiple arms, and specialized sensors and abandon the human form. Meanwhile, he’s thoroughly convinced that today’s billions are funding expensive training experiments that will never scale to mass production.

FACEBOOK I INSTAGRAM I MASTODON I WEBSITE

On September 14, 2025, more than 100 makers will gather at Stony Brook University to inspire families, students, and innovators with hands-on exhibits, performances, and cutting-edge tech. This year’s event is bigger than ever, coinciding with the Explorium’s 20th anniversary and promising a day filled with invention, creativity, and family fun. Thousands of visitors from across the tri-state area
will gather to explore more than 100 exhibits, performances, and hands-on workshops that bring innovation to life.

“Maker Faire Long Island has always been about sparking curiosity and celebrating creativity,” said Lisa Collet Rodriguez, the event co-producer. “This year, with our move to Stony Brook University and the Explorium’s 20th anniversary, the Faire is reaching new heights — from fire-breathing dragons to Star Wars set pieces, and from robotics to sustainability. It is a day where everyone, from kids to seasoned engineers, can be inspired.” LINK

Making The Force!

The (maker) force is strong this year at Maker Faire Long Island! Fan favorites return in full power,
with the Saber Guild Endor Temple offering Lightsaber Padawan Training for kids and
performance choreography workshops for adults. The 501st Legion’s Empire City Garrison
debuts their massive set pieces — including a life-size recreation of the iconic trash compactor
scene.

Adding to the galaxy far, far away, the Long Island Droid Builders and the Long Island R2-D2
Builders Group will showcase their operational life-size R2-D2 droids, delighting fans young
and old with some of the most beloved robots in cinematic history. Maker John Endres is part of an international community of skilled creators who hand-build their own replica robots from the Star Wars universe. These droids are custom-made, fully functional, and ready to roll into Maker Faire Long Island for photo ops and up-close looks at movie magic in motion.

Featured Makers

This year’s Faire will showcase a dynamic mix of innovation, spectacle, and hands-on STEM fun: ‘Learn to Solder’ with MythBusters Jr.’s Elijah Horland, Princesses with Powertools, FIRST Robotics teams, and more.

• Adam Foster’s Magma-Pumpkin-Dragon — Three brand-new fire-breathing sculptures,
  including a volcanic flame-shooter, a plasma-carved pumpkin, and a dragon that roars with
  fire. Foster, a master of blending traditional metal crafts with high-tech flair, invites attendees to interact with these majestic creations, proving once more that imagination knows no bounds.
• Learn to Solder Workshop with Elijah Horland of MythBusters Jr. and PCBWay —
  Visitors can make their own light-up badge while learning real electronics skills from a TV
  science star. This workshop allows participants to create their own MFLI light-up badge while mastering the basics of soldering. Sponsored by PCBWay, this hands-on experience is free with entry and offers a unique takeaway—a shining example of electronic craftsmanship. “Maker Faire Long Island is a beacon for the innovative spirit, drawing makers and enthusiasts from across the country to celebrate the power of creativity,” said Lisa Rodriguez, Co-Producer of Maker Faire Long Island and Digital Media & Marketing at the Long Island Explorium. “This year, we are thrilled to introduce new makers and even more captivating exhibits that highlight the latest in STEAM. We aim to inspire attendees to explore their creativity and perhaps spark a lifelong interest in these fields.”
• Princesses with Powertools — Disney-style princesses who teach kids how to drill, build,
  and create, showing young makers that #BrilliantIsBeautiful. Young attendees are invited to wield a hand drill under royal guidance to create their very own constellation projectors, illuminating the blend of beauty and brilliance in STEM.
• FIRST Long Island Robotics — Student teams from across the region showcasing
  competition-ready robots and inspiring the next generation of engineers.

New host CUNY Stonybrook will also give a bird’s eye view into the amazing science, innovation, engineering and creativity of its students and faculty. The Explorium’s milestone anniversary gave organizers a reason to go big. Stony Brook provides not just larger ballrooms and outdoor promenades but also the infrastructure to handle growing crowds and exhibitors. “We’ve worked with SBU on programs before, so it felt like the right time to expand our partnership,” Rodriguez said. “There’s designated parking, the ballroom, and the promenade leading up to the Wolf statue — it all lends itself to a different experience for the Maker Faire.”

Event Details

• Event: Maker Faire Long Island 2025
• Date: Sunday, September 14, 2025
• Location: Stony Brook University, Student Activity Center
• Produced by: Long Island Explorium (celebrating 20 years of inspiring innovation)
• Tickets & Info
• Photos: Flickr Gallery
  For more information, including the full list of makers and the day’s schedule, visit:
  longisland.makerfaire.com

Open Sauce, the irreverent engineering convention started by YouTuber William Osman, filled the San Mateo Event Center last week with robots, games, and skeletons. Oh, and 150 featured creators. It was a fun show, if a little surreal. We failed to see everything, even though we really tried. But here’s a selection of a lot, though still not all, of terrific exhibits from the show. 

Metalmancy Arcade Cabinets

Metalmancy’s arcade machines, built by Carlo Supina, are powered by Framework boards and built like tanks. They were running games by developer Joanna May, who was promoting her Chickensoft tools for devs.

Framework PC

Framework was also on site, challenging people to see how quickly they could assemble a laptop from their modular parts. 

Bash Em! Bop Em!

Presumably beating their own record for assembly, this dance-controlled robot battle was first played the night before Open Sauce. Each team member lives in a different city and couldn’t bring everything together before Friday. But the mashup of Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots, Dance Dance Revolution floor pad controllers, little hydraulic cylinders, and 3D printed connections came together for the show. Attendees had a great time playing. And apparently I’m awesome at it. – Sam

Engineezy

Sashimi Slayer

We spotted this sword-controlled rhythm game earlier at alt.ctrl.GDC, and the internals are still holding up better than the toy swords around them. They’ve improved the GUI and added a bonus level since March.

3D Snake

Maker Nexus and Their Team Building Labyrinth

This four-person ball maze by Maker Nexus is heavier than it looks, but it will make you some instant new friends.

DIY “Benchtop” CNC Mill

Compass CNC Router

Shariff DMC: Desktop CNC Machines

Fernside Dragons

Paul Bunyan’s Pocket Watch

This mechanical wooden pocket watch by Nick Allen was mesmerizing, probably because it was 300 lbs. If you doubted it belonged to Paul Bunyan, there was a bell jar of Paul Bunyan-sized pocket lint to prove it. 

Wooden Mechanical Calculator

Open Workout System

“No subscriptions and no bricked hardware” is the driving ethos behind this open source workout system. Users can program in the exact weight they want to simulate, and it will provide the equivalent level of resistance while taking up a fraction of the space of a traditional set of weights. Not a bad tool for physical therapy.

Novoloom

Evette’s Niche

Evette’s Niche displayed a wide range of whimsical machines, from costumes and accessories to musical art nouveau instruments. She taught herself Blender to pull off the organic designs.

SkyTech Electronics

SkyTech Electronics put old hardware to practical use by building one Mac Classic into a robot tank, and another into a thermal photo booth. They also had the oldest electronic guestbook I signed. – Sam

BAYLUG

The Bay Area Lego User Group brought vintage space models and wild new designs, like a Blacktron Strandbeest. 

Extrastellar Entity Labs

Mace Morningstar and Peter Turnbull built Alphonse, an animatronic goat head, for a heavy metal pagan ritual performance. People trusted the NFC tag enough to feed it their phones.

SF Bay Area Japan Maker Community

AdamCAD

Those interested in making their own 3D shapes could stop by the AdamCAD booth, which demoed their parametric text-to-3D AI CAD software at Maker Faire Bay Area 2024. They’ve since added a “creative mode” for organic shapes.

Open Source Special Needs Devices

Adaptive tech tools for special needs kids are surprisingly expensive and still may not do exactly what you want. T-Rex Successful, Slightly Famous, Autistic Adult builds projects like the Python-programmable communication board (left), which are a perfect fit for open source solutions.

Austin Bradley’s Bad Ideas

Some games make sense being larger, others definitely don’t. Two people were trying to play a game with Ausin Bradley’s giant Wii remote which, like the sign says, probably shouldn’t exist.

The Gateway

Stochastic Volumetric Display

Geoff Peterson Talking Animatronic Robot Skeleton Sidekick

Talk Tips

There were three stages where YouTubers spoke and shared advice. Some sage wisdom for aspiring video creators included “make your content as long as it needs to be”, and to think of your first five videos as learning experiences, since no one will watch them.

They also proved it was possible for a grown adult to get beat at a giant game of Operation by a child.

But the most important thing to look forward to is friends! Editor-in-Chief Keith Hammond ran into Kayte Sabicer and Jorvon Moss (aka Odd Jayy), and proved that the real sauce is the sauce we made along the way.