Three challenges

Unit Challenges — Team Session

This unit consists of three parallel challenges. You will split into three teams, each tackling a different challenge simultaneously.

Hybrid Session Rules

To keep online participants fully involved, every team assigns a Communicator role:

  • One person in the room is responsible for actively including the online participants throughout the session.
  • Tasks that require physical hardware are handled by the people on-site; online participants take care of software, documentation, and research tasks.

Challenge 1 — Reverse Engineering a Sensor Box

Format: Mostly offline · max. 2 online participants

Goal

Reverse-engineer an unknown sensor box using only hardware inspection — no software, no AI assistance apart from google lens or similar to identify the components.

Steps

  1. Examine the hardware — open the enclosure and carefully inspect all visible components.
  2. Identify components — look for labels, markings, chip numbers, connector types etc. Try to retrace the cables to identify connections. Please try to not destroy it / be able to set it back together afterwards.
  3. Draw the circuit diagram — sketch the layout by hand or on paper; capture how components are connected.
  4. Determine component functions — for each identified component, describe what it likely does (sensor, power regulator, microcontroller, etc.).
  5. Document findings — write a brief summary: what components were found, what each does, and any open questions.

Challenge 2 — Pico Super Script

Format: Online + offline
Focus: Software integration, hardware testing

Goal

Combine your teammates’ individual Pico scripts into one unified “super script”, verify which hardware elements are actually available, and test it physically.

Steps

  1. Collect all submissions — gather the scripts submitted by team members from Ilias.
  2. Audit available hardware — check which sensors, actuators, and modules are physically present and can actually be used.
  3. Review and merge scripts:
    • Identify overlapping or conflicting code sections.
    • Resolve pin conflicts and naming inconsistencies.
    • Create a single, clean combined script.
  4. Test incrementally — test it online.
  5. Write on Pico - write the combined script to the Pico (see below) .
  6. Recreate physically — wire up the components on a breadboard or enclosure to match the script’s expected hardware layout.
  7. Document the final setup — note which features work, which were excluded, and why.

Challenge 3 — Camera Setup & Cron Job

Format: Split task — offline (hardware) + online (software)

Goal

Test different cameras with a Raspberry Pi and set up an automated cron job to run a script on the Pi Zero headlessly.

On-site Team — Camera Testing

  1. Set up the Pi with camera support — together with me.
  2. Connect and test each available camera — note the camera module name and resolution.
  3. Determine optimal distance — for each camera, find the minimum and maximum distance that yields a sharp, usable image.
  4. Compare image quality — photograph two insects of different sizes (e.g., a large beetle vs. a small fly) with each camera. Note differences in detail and sharpness.
  5. Document results — create a simple comparison table

Online Team — Cron Job / Automation Script

  1. Review the headless Pi Zero setup — see the setup notes below for how the Pi Zero was configured with a local Wi-Fi connection.
  2. Write a shell or Python script with basic functionality (e.g., capture an image, log a timestamp, or ping a service).
  3. Create a cron job entry — format: * * * * * /path/to/script.sh
  4. Test the cron syntax — use crontab.guru to verify your schedule expression.
  5. Deploy to the Pi Zero — transfer the script (help will be provided by me)
  6. Verify execution — check logs (/var/log/syslog or a custom log file) to confirm the cron job runs as expected.

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