Chaos Computer Club - Electromagnetic Field 2026 (high quality mp4)

Marine Energy: Electronics overboard! (emf2026)

Fri, 17 Jul 2026 13:20:00 +0200

There's no shortage of power in the marine environment, but how do we turn it into something we can use? And how can we measure what's happening in this energetic environment when water and electronics generally shouldn't be mixed? A quick tour of wave and tidal power, and how we can measure the power available at sea - including some examples of how that works (or doesn't) in practice from prototype testing and research. Featuring specialised instrumentation with a hefty price tag, some rather more DIY Arduino and Raspberry Pi solutions - and reluctant use of a grappling hook. Examples drawn from work carried out while employed at Swansea University, with permission. Licensed to the public under https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ about this event: https://www.emfcamp.org/schedule/2026/150-marine-energy-electronics-overboard

The Orphan Source Incident (emf2026)

Fri, 17 Jul 2026 12:50:00 +0200

What is an orphan source? What was the orphan source incident in 2024? Why were we so worried? Were there any legal ramifications? What has happened since? Based on experience working in the nuclear industry, this talk will tell the story of the orphan sources, where they came from, why we were so concerned, what happened next, and why the best intentions sometimes lead to radiological incidents. No blame has been attached to anyone involved in the original incident, and aside from the original manufacturer and the regulators, nobody will be identified in the talk. Licensed to the public under https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ about this event: https://www.emfcamp.org/schedule/2026/46-the-orphan-source-incident

Internet of Baby - the privacy implications of a smart nursery. (emf2026)

Fri, 17 Jul 2026 12:40:00 +0200

IoT baby monitors, smart bassinets, connected toys, and AI-powered parenting apps promise peace of mind and convenience for tired parents of wee children. But behind the reassuring notifications and cutesy designs lies an ever expanding ecosystem of microphones, cameras, biometric sensors, cloud analytics, and behaviour profiling systems collecting data about children - before they even have started solids! This talk explores the privacy implications of modern baby IoT devices: what data is collected, where it goes, who profits from it. I will examine real-world breaches, insecure ecosystems, children's data gathering, and the consequences of normalising surveillance from infancy. Licensed to the public under https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ about this event: https://www.emfcamp.org/schedule/2026/220-internet-of-baby-the-privacy-implications-of-a-smart-nursery

Project CETI: How to Decode the Language of Other Species (emf2026)

Fri, 17 Jul 2026 17:40:00 +0200

Project CETI is an interdisciplinary research project that uses new techniques in data collection, analysis, and artificial intelligence to understand what sperm whales are saying to each other. The project includes researchers from multiple universities and institutions around the world, spanning disciplines across marine biology, robotics, cryptography, artificial intelligence, and more. This talk will give an overview of our aims and plans and highlight some of our most exciting breakthroughs - including identifying sperm whale 'vowels', and capturing the first ever audio/video recording of a sperm whale birth. We'll also discuss our approach to responsibility and ethics when it comes to use of technology to engage with other species. Licensed to the public under https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ about this event: https://www.emfcamp.org/schedule/2026/244-project-ceti-how-to-decode-the-language-of-other-species

Mountains, Rescues, and Risks (emf2026)

Fri, 17 Jul 2026 16:00:00 +0200

It's human nature to ignore or downplay risk until it actually happens - but how do you handle it in a high-consequence environment? How do you take a situation that has already been dangerous for one person and insert ten more safely? For some reason, groups of people worldwide volunteer to do backcountry rescue - in mountains, canyons, deserts, and more. In these hostile environments, ignoring risk isn't an option; so how do we manage it, embrace it, and work with it? What does it take to turn a dangerous situation into a safer one, and what does this share with other fields where life-safety is a critical feature? How is technology both helping and hindering us? Join us for an overview of mountain rescue, mission successes, near-misses, successful failures, and why exactly a bunch of mostly-competent idiots give up a lot of their free time to pull people out of nasty situations. Licensed to the public under https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ about this event: https://www.emfcamp.org/schedule/2026/211-mountains-rescues-and-risks

Middle Rage - Social Media and the War on Democracy (emf2026)

Fri, 17 Jul 2026 12:40:00 +0200

What happens when the people we think of as “having it all sorted” start being quietly pulled towards extremism online? This talk from the SMIDGE project shines a light on an often-overlooked group: the middle aged. This includes some of the most powerful people in the world CEOs, influencers and politicians. For most however, middle-age looks very different: juggling jobs, children, ageing parents, mortgages, and a constant stream of news, advice, and opinions online. Far from being “sorted,” this stage of life is full of pressures including health worries, financial strain, and caring responsibilities. So, when something appears online that promises a clear explanation, a simple answer, or someone to blame, it can be hard not to pay attention. The problem is that the systems shaping what we see are not designed to inform us but are designed to keep us engaged. AI-driven content is becoming more convincing by the day, blurring the line between what is real and what is not. What starts as an innocent search for diet tips or money advice can lead down a path towards more extreme, emotionally charged content. Not suddenly, but step by step. This talk explores why the “invisible middle” matters both as a group vulnerable to misinformation, and as one with real influence over how ideas spread. Because if we want to understand radicalisation today, we cannot afford to ignore the middle aged. Licensed to the public under https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ about this event: https://www.emfcamp.org/schedule/2026/129-middle-rage-social-media-and-the-war-on-democracy

SMolSTM: an open hardware scanning tunnelling microscope for creating single-molecule circuits (emf2026)

Fri, 17 Jul 2026 17:20:00 +0200

As the energy consumed by datacentres grows, finding energy-efficient alternatives to conventional electronics becomes increasingly urgent. Molecular electronics offers a different idea of what a device can be: using synthetic chemistry, custom molecules can be designed for specific applications, utilising fascinating nanoscale phenomena such as quantum interference. These single-molecule devices can “self-assemble” into larger structures for energy-efficient sensing, memory, and computation. The nanostructured nature of single molecules offers endless possibilities, and difficulties: wiring molecules into circuits requires sub-nanometer (< 0.000000001 m!!!) precision. The scanning tunnelling microscope (STM), which explores surfaces at the atomic scale using quantum tunnelling, could become the multimeter of molecular electronics, but commercial STMs are extremely expensive and not optimised for these experiments. This talk describes the development of an open-hardware STM for single-molecule “break-junction” experiments (SMolSTM). The design was developed over several years, from a prototype built in a shed during the COVID-19 pandemic to a precision instrument currently in use in a state-of-the-art low noise research facility. This STM is orders of magnitude less expensive than commercial alternatives and can be made using hand tools and 3D printing, yet achieves exceptional performance in single-molecule experiments. The flexibility of open hardware allows experiments which are impossible on existing systems. This talk will introduce molecular electronics, outline a multi-year journey in DIY STM development, and describe some experiments using SMolSTM (e.g. measuring the resistance of a single gold atom!). This work was conducted in part at Lancaster University as part of an EPSRC funded research project. Licensed to the public under https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ about this event: https://www.emfcamp.org/schedule/2026/219-smolstm-an-open-hardware-scanning-tunnelling-microscope

Sonus ex nihilo (emf2026)

Fri, 17 Jul 2026 16:20:00 +0200

Join me on an audible journey through the history of electronic audio synthesizers. You'll learn how popular analog synths from the 1970s operate, how to change the sounds they make, as well as how the accidental discovery of FM synthesis in 1967 changed the sound of the 1980s. We'll cover oscillators, filters, resonance, and how recent chip decapping and reverse engineering efforts revealed the long-hidden tricks of clever Japanese engineers. Everything will be explained from (more or less) first principles, with live audio demos throughout to help illustrate concepts: no electronics, DSP, or music background required. Licensed to the public under https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ about this event: https://www.emfcamp.org/schedule/2026/71-sonus-ex-nihilo

An Appreciation of Ecological Sanitation (or Turds for Nerds) (emf2026)

Fri, 17 Jul 2026 16:10:00 +0200

Our modern sewage system relies on vast amounts of water and this causes huge problems. Perhaps the greatest being that the anaerobic microbes that break down human waste in water are inefficient, produce greenhouse gases, and then waste ends up in the rivers and seas producing algal blooms and foul smells. Whereas their descendants on land (aerobic microbes) are extremely efficient and only produce CO2, H2O and organic matter. So what went wrong? I will describe the history of the modern sewage system and how it broke the natural nutrient cycle, causing pollution, health problems and costing a lot of public money, and then conclude with the maths, chemistry and biology of a micro self-sustaining aerobic sewage system on a houseboat. Licensed to the public under https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ about this event: https://www.emfcamp.org/schedule/2026/73-an-appreciation-of-ecological-sanitation-or-turds-for-nerds

The Hassle Hurdle: a philosophy to hack ADHD (emf2026)

Fri, 17 Jul 2026 14:10:00 +0200

Eight years ago a 5 second bit in a YouTube video led me to develop a generalised philosophy on how to design coping mechanisms for my ADHD: The Hassle Hurdle. Ever since then I've been continuously using and improving the philosophy to manage the symptoms of my ADHD, and my quality of life in general. In the talk I'll introduce the three rules of the philosophy, how they came about, and suggest ways of implementing them. The talk will then cover some common lessons and pitfalls that I've discovered along the way, before finishing with some recommendations of practical tools, software-based tools and finally some 'Oh no I'm too good at computers and can bypass any distraction blocking software I try' tools. Licensed to the public under https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ about this event: https://www.emfcamp.org/schedule/2026/236-the-hassle-hurdle-a-philosophy-to-hack-adhd

Hacking APRS to warm my camper van whilst I’m still in the pub (emf2026)

Fri, 17 Jul 2026 16:50:00 +0200

This brief talk will describe a personal remote-control protocol that can be run over APRS and potentially other similar location messaging protocols. APRS is an amateur VHF/UHF ad-hoc, wide area, resilient digital mesh network relaying position information. Amateur APRS networks operate using AX25 packet radio at 144 & 432MHz and can have a similar range per node to UHF LoRa and Meshtastic networks. I designed this protocol to remotely operate appliances in my house or my van, all within the terms of the amateur licence, without the use of public cellular networking or Internet WiFi nodes. My requirement was for a cheap off-the-shelf means to relay data two ways from inside a pub to my camper van 2-3 miles distant. The talk will include a description of the overlay protocol and its implementation using a Raspberry Pi Zero and a cheap Baofeng handy talkie (HT). I will explain how a couple of simple Bash scripts running over Direwolf on the Pi translate my adapted APRS messages and then are used to control a wide range of electrical appliances. The talk includes a demonstration of remote control of a couple of units in my van which is located some distance away. The talk will focus on APRS, and a theoretical and practical comparison will be made between APRS running over conventional AFSK and over LoRa. Other options including Meshtastic on the licence free and other frequencies will be covered. Licensed to the public under https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ about this event: https://www.emfcamp.org/schedule/2026/156-hacking-aprs-to-warm-my-camper-van-whilst-i-m-still-in-the

Boiling A Frog: Science & Ethics as TTRPG (emf2026)

Fri, 17 Jul 2026 12:00:00 +0200

Ethics: a necessary reign or a hindrance to scientific progress? An apocryphal story describes how if one drops a frog into boiling water, it will jump out. However, if the frog is dropped into warm water which is then slowly heated, it will boil to death. In science, leaving the lukewarm water means abandoning research that could lead to groundbreaking discoveries -- but when is the water too hot? How do we know that things are heading in an unsavory direction, and is it in our power to do anything about it? Join us to explore the ethics of science in a lively discussion, fueled by scenarios from a new science ethics TTRPG in development by our team at the University of Cambridge. Licensed to the public under https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ about this event: https://www.emfcamp.org/schedule/2026/125-boiling-a-frog-science-ethics-as-ttrpg

Rotundest Robin: Building a Smart Bird Feeder That Weighs Songbirds (emf2026)

Fri, 17 Jul 2026 12:00:00 +0200

How do you answer a question like "Is the particularly round Robin that visits my bird feeder huge or just fluffy?". This talk documents my attempt to answer this question by building a smart bird feeder that tracks the weight of visiting birds, which in combination with a custom computer vision model and a night vision web cam, helped me build a data set of all the visitors to my bird feeder. Come along for Python, micro electronics with the Raspberry Pi, machine learning, and a slow pigeon inspired descent into madness. And of course the answer to the ultimate question, how heavy is this robin? Licensed to the public under https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ about this event: https://www.emfcamp.org/schedule/2026/147-rotundest-robin

Opening Ceremony (emf2026)

Fri, 17 Jul 2026 11:00:00 +0200

The ceremony in which we open the festival. Hello! Licensed to the public under https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ about this event: https://www.emfcamp.org/schedule/2026/278-opening-ceremony

Apollo 11 - Q&A With Stephen Slater and Helen O'Hara (emf2026)

Thu, 16 Jul 2026 21:30:00 +0200

Immediately following our screening of Apollo 11, Stephen Slater will be joined on-stage by Empire Magazine's Helen O'Hara to discuss the making of the film. Stephen worked as Archive Producer on Apollo 11 and is one of the world's leading NASA archivists. A chance to hear about the finding of never-seen-before footage and audio that was painstakingly catalogued and restored for inclusion on the film. You will also have your chance to submit questions to Stephen in advance. Licensed to the public under https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ about this event: https://www.emfcamp.org/schedule/2026/364-apollo-11-q-a-with-stephen-slater-and-helen-ohara