linux.conf.au 2020 Open Hardware Miniconf · Australia · 2020

LCA2020 DingoCar

Small self-driving car kit for the linux.conf.au Open Hardware Miniconf

linux.conf.au 2020's Open Hardware Miniconf in Gold Coast included DingoCar, a small self-driving car hardware kit and machine-learning platform assembled, driven, trained, and tested by participants.

linux.conf.au Open Hardware Miniconf Australia Gold Coast DingoCar Raspberry Pi TensorFlow machine learning robotics Oceania

Eventlinux.conf.au 2020 Open Hardware Miniconf

Serieslinux.conf.au Open Hardware Miniconf

LocationGold Coast, Queensland

CountryAustralia

People

Authors & Credits

DingoCar machine-learning platform presenter

John Spencer

Named by the official schedule as presenter for the DingoCar: A machine learning platform session.

Source

DingoCar perception and software presenter

Andy Gelme

Named by the official schedule for DingoCar: Perception module Small scale, self-driving car, and shown by the attendee writeup presenting the software side of the car.

Source

attendee writeup publisher

Marc Merlin

Published the first-hand DingoCar Open Hardware Miniconf report used for Raspberry Pi control, neural-network training, and self-driving outcome evidence.

Source

event and schedule publisher

linux.conf.au 2020 / Linux Australia

Official publisher of the LCA2020 schedule used for Gold Coast event context, Open Hardware assembly timing, and DingoCar session evidence.

Source

Why It Mattered

DingoCar extends the Oceania LCA hardware lineage into robotics and applied machine learning: it was not just a talk prop, but an event-built car platform used for Raspberry Pi control, perception work, TensorFlow training, and autonomous driving experiments.

Hardware

The official schedule proves a Tuesday Open Hardware assembly workshop followed by DingoCar machine-learning and perception sessions. Marc Merlin's first-hand writeup documents a Raspberry Pi-controlled DingoCar, car assembly, software-side presentation, manual track driving, and a final car that drove autonomously after training.

Software & Apps

The source trail documents the DingoCar as a machine-learning platform with a perception module, TensorFlow video-analysis training, and neural-network training by manually driving cars around the track before testing self-driving behavior. This pass does not claim a recovered public code repository, model archive, schematic, or BOM.

Lore

Marc Merlin framed the 2020 DingoCar as an improved version of the prior year's Open Hardware Miniconf self-driving car project, with Jon Spencer presenting the machine-learning platform and Andy Gelme presenting perception/software content in the official schedule.

Lifecycle

Add-ons & Upgrades

machine-learning workflow source-backed

Neural-network track training

Participants trained the cars' neural networks by manually driving around the track before testing autonomous driving behavior.

Compatibility: LCA2020 DingoCar

Source

robotics hardware platform source-backed

Raspberry Pi-controlled car platform

Marc Merlin's first-hand report identifies the 2020 DingoCar as controlled by a Raspberry Pi and shows it as the hardware focus of the Open Hardware Miniconf.

Compatibility: LCA2020 DingoCar

Source

workshop and talk sequence source-backed

Official Open Hardware DingoCar sessions

The official schedule lists Open Hardware assembly time plus DingoCar machine-learning and visual-perception sessions in Room 8.

Compatibility: LCA2020 DingoCar

Source

Operational history

Issues & Camp Impact

kit-artifact classification note

The source trail proves a DingoCar robotics and machine-learning hardware kit used in the Open Hardware Miniconf, not a conference-wide admission credential.

The entry is modeled as an LCA hardware-kit artifact in the badge lineage while avoiding claims about attendee identity-badge issuance.

Confidence: official and first-hand sources
Status: documented
Timeframe: 2020 Open Hardware Miniconf
Source note: LCA2020 schedule and Marc Merlin DingoCar writeup.

missing rights-cleared image note

No DingoCar image is published because the recovered attendee photos and schedule material have not been paired with complete source URL, license or permission basis, attribution, and processing notes for catalogue publication.

The record remains source-backed and image-free rather than copying attendee photos, thumbnails, screenshots, or generated imagery.

Confidence: local project policy
Status: needs licensed original replacement
Timeframe: current catalogue build
Source note: badge.gallery image policy, LCA2020 schedule, and Marc Merlin DingoCar writeup.

source-depth caveat note

The public trail documents DingoCar sessions, Raspberry Pi control, TensorFlow-style training, and self-driving behavior, but this pass did not recover a stable schematic, BOM, model archive, firmware repository, kit quantity, or explicit project license.

The record keeps hardware and software claims to schedule-backed and first-hand evidence until deeper project archives are recovered.

Confidence: source-backed but incomplete
Status: needs public repository or hardware archive
Timeframe: 2020 hardware-kit archive pass
Source note: LCA2020 schedule, Marc Merlin 2020 DingoCar writeup, and prior Open Hardware self-driving car lineage writeup.

Resources

LCA2019 self-driving car predecessor lineage writeup · First-hand predecessor writeup used only for lineage context: Marc describes the 2019 Open Hardware Miniconf car as an onboard-camera, Raspberry Pi, TensorFlow-based self-driving project. LCA2020 DingoCar attendee writeup first-hand attendee writeup · Marc Merlin's Open Hardware Miniconf report documenting Raspberry Pi control, DingoCar assembly, software presentation, neural-network training, track driving, and self-driving outcome. linux.conf.au 2020 schedule schedule · Official schedule source for the Gold Coast LCA2020 context, Open Hardware assembly workshop, DingoCar machine-learning platform session, and visual-perception session.

Sources

Marc Merlin: Linux.conf.au Open Hardware Miniconf 2020: Dingo Car with Tensorflow Video Analysis v2 Retrieved 2026-05-15 · First-hand attendee source for DingoCar as the 2020 Open Hardware Miniconf artifact, Raspberry Pi-controlled car behavior, manual neural-network training, and autonomous-driving demonstration. linux.conf.au 2020: Conference Schedule Retrieved 2026-05-15 · Official source proving the January 2020 Gold Coast event, Open Hardware room, assembly workshop, DingoCar: A machine learning platform session by John Spencer, and DingoCar visual-perception session by Andy Gelme.