Mic Black
Mic is a Master Maker, Experiential Technologist and prolific inventor working from Mic’s Lab, a boutique “inventors for hire” R&D lab based on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland. Despite juggling a busy commercial work schedule, Mic travels across the Australia and abroad running hackathons, connecting makers and makerspaces, and improving digital literacy in regional areas especially around IoT, lighting and microelectronics.
Mic and his team are known for outrageous PR stunts using self developed new technologies for large scale social and economic impact, or simply to inspire and engage. Mic promotes Maker in Residence programs and the Maker Movement in Australia in his own capacity and as a two times Advance Queensland Digital Champion and Startup Catalyst Community Leader Alumni. Mic is an internationally and locally multi exhibited interactive artist and has created solutions for household name multinationals through to fledgling startups. Mic is also an entertaining regular guest lecturer, public speaker, TEDx alumni and local community personality.
Mic believes in an open source, “give first” creative economy with a strong focus on capacity building and knowledge sharing. His skills include: solutions architecture, UI/UX design, microelectronics, high availability web, app and embedded software development, brain computer interfaces, wearables, team leadership, mentorship, public speaking and is a multi-instrumentalist.
Quirk: Mic once gesture controlled a 33t excavator with Hitachi for a public engagement piece to promote mechatronics education in Mackay, Queensland using a LEAP motion controller. This drew a huge crowd young and old who enjoyed controlling the excavator in front of thousands beside an airport.
