Talk Intermediate First Talk

Open Source Scientific Harware for Citizen Science

Rejected

Session Description

Citizen science has experienced significant growth in popularity over the past decade, with many amateur enthusiasts dedicating themselves to scientific pursuits and making valuable contributions to ongoing research. However, one major challenge facing these individuals is access to specialized hardware, often a barrier to participation. Fortunately, numerous scientific disciplines can benefit from the use of low-cost, off-the-shelf devices, such as Arduino boards, camera boards, 3d printing, etc., which can be repurposed for data collection and analysis. By highlighting the potential of these solutions, this talk aims to inspire a new wave of innovation in citizen science and encourage researchers to think creatively about accessible technologies for their work.

References

https://opensource.com/article/18/5/citizen-scientists

Session Categories

Introducing a FOSS project or a new version of a popular project

Contributing to FOSS

Technology architecture

Which track are you applying for?

Open Hardware

Speakers

Balaji Muthusubramanian Head of Data & AI | StackNexus

Dr. Balaji Muthusubramanian is an astrophysicist, Data & AI leader, and entrepreneur with a PhD in Astrophysics from the University of Cologne, Germany. His research on young stellar objects involved observations using world-class facilities including the Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI), the William Herschel Telescope, and the Gran Telescopio Canarias.

Professionally, he has led enterprise Data & AI initiatives, helping organizations build modern data platforms, develop AI strategies, and drive digital transformation through data-driven innovation.

He is the founder of 4pi Astronomics, a citizen science initiative dedicated to making astronomy more accessible by connecting amateur astronomers, students, educators, and researchers to collaborate on observations, share data, and contribute to real scientific discovery. He is also the creator of Skill-Ex, an AI-powered learning platform that uses machine learning to deliver personalized skill and training recommendations.

His work is driven by a passion for using technology to make science, knowledge, and innovation more accessible to everyone.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/astrobalaji/