Robotics

Visitors and newcomers are very welcome, please see https://hackmelbourne.com/newcomer-faq/ for more details. COVIDSafe restrictions are also in place, please see https://hackmelbourne.com/covid-19-restrictions/ for the latest. Short walk from Glenferrie train station. Car parking at Hawthorn town hall. Bring a laptop and a project you are working on. There is also a number of group projects that you are welcome to join in. We have starter kits for Arduino, a couple of 3D printers, various tools and equipment available for use. Typically our sessions run from 6:45pm till later in the evening (depending on our members' availability to close) but if you're new please come early.

Two thirty-minute presentations followed by Beer & Pizza Speakers: ## From Bits to Collisions: Breaking and Defending Railway OT This session introduces **OT-Security-Lab**, a hands-on railway SCADA/PLC security lab that shows how cyber attacks can create real physical impacts. By simulating safety logic, control registers, and legacy protocols like Modbus TCP, the lab demonstrates how attackers can manipulate OT systems without exploits or malware. It also highlights how Blue Teams can detect these behaviors, helping bridge the gap between IT security and real-world OT environments. Bio: Christian Azuero is a cybersecurity specialist and Technical System Consultant at BMM Testlabs with over five years of experience across firewall auditing, threat detection, DFIR, and regulatory compliance. He designs hands-on Blue-Team and CTF learning environments, including the Hacker Escape Room platform used by students and cybersecurity communities across Australia. Christian holds an MSc in Network & Security from Monash University and multiple industry certifications, and is passionate about making cybersecurity and OT education accessible, practical, and fun.

Thank you for the support at our last event featuring a great pair of speakers, with many turning up to see Will Law visiting our shores. We have a plan to run a more regular meetup over the next year at Kick Streaming HQ in Easygo with several events being mapped out across 2026. Our talks in the February meetup feature three leaders in Video Technology Industry Talks tonight are from two leaders in Video Technology Industry **[Brad Hughes (US) - Senior Engineering Manager @ Amazon IVS](https://www.linkedin.com/in/bradhughes/)** *Enhanced RTMP and HLS Present: Synchronized Vertical and Horizontal Video* **[Alan Rogers - Staff Software Engineer in Video @ Canva](https://www.linkedin.com/in/alanjrogers/)** *Video Sync: The Art of Ignoring Messages* **[Brenton Ough - CEO & Co-Founder @ Touchstream](https://www.linkedin.com/in/brentonough/)** *An update on CMSD-MQA- featured in Denver Mile-High Video conference* Easygo – 271 Collins Street Melbourne Tuesday 24 February, 6:00–8:00pm RSVP is essential for Easygo building access **Sponsors** Our thanks to **Easygo** for hosting and sponsoring pizza + drinks at the venue. Melbourne Video Technology is a volunteer group, as part of many groups independently run around the world. Tonight’s hosts will be: Jeremy Brown, Nick MacPherson and James Broberg

tickets and info: [https://bachatacorazon.com.au/tuesday-night](https://bachatacorazon.com.au/tuesday-night) ### Shake off the workday with a night of pure Bachata bliss! Every Tuesday, 6:15pm - 9pm, we run classes for all levels of dancers, from absolute beginners to advanced. From 9pm, join us for an unforgettable evening at one of Melbourne's most popular socials—our DJs drop all the hottest hits and dancers, from all schools and interstate come together to share their love for Bachata dance - with a sprinkle of Salsa and Kizomba. Don't miss out on this sure-fire recipe to get your week started right! •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• **BACHATA CLASSES TIMELINE:** **6:15 - 6:45pm: FREE class for absolute beginners** to learn the fundamental and the basic of bachata. (Upstairs) **7:00 - 8:00PM Beginners:** Your Latin dance journey starts here! We'll teach you the essential holds, basics steps and turns that will prepare you for the higher classes and kick start your Bachata journey. First-timers welcome! **7:00 - 8:00PM Sensual Bachata (Intermediate level)**: This class builds on your existing understanding of turns, wraps, connection and **(most importantly) frame**; to introduce Bachata sensual whole-body movements. Mastering the techniques in this class will get you ready for any social dance floor anywhere in the world. We recommend at least 8-12 months of regular dancing before attempting this class. Check with an instructor for tips on how to improve your frame so that you will get the most out of this class. **8:00 - 9:00PM Intermediate Social Moves:** This class is perfect for dancers of all levels who have at least 8-12 weeks of experience dancing Bachata. In this class, we focus on teaching you fun social moves that you can use immediately on the dance floor. The moves and combinations taught in this class are perfect for Australia’s social dance scene and will keep you dancing for hours. **8:00 - 9:00PM Advanced Bachata**: In this class we introduce advanced techniques, complex timing, and musicality. This class requires an assessment (or invitation from an instructor). Students in this class should be able to lead and follow controlled whole-body movements learned in the Intermediate Sensual class. It is our expectation that advanced dancers are practicing their dance 3-4 times per week. We recommend advanced dancers continue participating in 7PM Sensual Bachata class regularly to keep fundamentals strong. **Social dancing** **9PM - MIDNIGHT 3 HOURS of SOCIAL DANCING AND PARTY** with the latest modern bachata and of course, SENSUAL bachata music. Perfect mix to practice the moves you learned in class!! •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• ALL TICKETS INCLUDE DRINK TOKENS. (All door prices include 1 drink): \- 6:15 Introduction class $FREE \- 1 class \+ social \- $32 \- 2 classes \+ social \- $42 \- 3hrs of party \(social dancing\): $22 (Membership options available from $15 p/week ([https://bachatacorazon.com.au/bachata-melbourne-membership](https://bachatacorazon.com.au/bachata-melbourne-membership)) WALK IN WELCOME No need to bring a partner as partners rotate in class. Join us any week, content will be revisited every few months. WHERE? The Space Dance & Arts Centre 318 Chapel St, Prahran VIC 3181 To RSVP for the classes and get tickets here: [https://bachatacorazon.com.au/tuesday-night](https://bachatacorazon.com.au/tuesday-night) Walk in welcome. For more info regarding the prices or other events, follow us on [Facebook ](https://www.facebook.com/BachataCorazonTuesday)and [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/bachatacorazontuesday).

Come along and join in a relaxed evening of dev and tech talk, drinks and dinner.

Tuesday nights just got better! Join us at **600 Little Collins St, Melbourne** for a **free beginners Bachata class** — the smooth, stylish Latin dance that’s taking over Melbourne. No partner, no pressure — just good vibes, great music, and easy-to-follow moves that anyone can learn. **Here’s what to expect:** * Step-by-step Bachata basics (no experience needed) * A super chill, welcoming crowd * Music that makes you *feel* like you’re on holiday **Location:** The Salsa Foundation, 600 Little Collins St, Melbourne **Time:** Tuesday 6 PM — arrive a few minutes early to check in ️ **Cost:** Free (bookings required — limited spots!)

Tuesday's Volleyball Games are on. Games start on Tuesday 7 pm at Ashburton Recreational Centre. All Levels Welcome. NO bookings required. Come and play volleyball with friends. #international #volleyball #club #melbourne

### **The Vibe** Are you curious about AI and automation, or are you already building complex workflows in **n8n**? Join us for a casual, after-work gathering in the heart of the Melbourne CBD. This is an "open floor" event—no rigid slides or formal pitches. Just a group of locals grabbing a drink and talking about how we use n8n to reclaim our time and supercharge our businesses. ### **Who This Is For** * **The Curious/Newbie:** If you’ve heard of n8n but haven't started yet, come see what’s possible. No question is too basic! * **The Pro/Builder:** Share your latest "Agentic" workflows, swap tips on self-hosting, or help troubleshoot a tricky expression. * **The Business Owner:** See how Melbourne SMEs are using automation

Beloved Friends , You are warmly invited to join **Osho Dynamic Meditation** — a powerful space to release stress, let go of built-up tension, and breathe freely again. Through movement, breath, and silence, allow the mind to unwind and the body to relax. No experience is needed — just come as you are and reconnect with your true nature, with awareness, aliveness, and inner peace. We would love to share this meditative journey with you. http://photos2.meetupstatic.com/photos/event/e/e/0/600_453663808.jpeg When : Every Saturday , 7:30am to 8:30am Where : Elwood Angling Club, Foreshore, Elwood Contribution : $15 "Just to be is such a great celebration if you know how to take the conditioning off. This 'taking off' you will learn through Dynamic Meditation. it will not be caused; it will come to you uncaused. Meditation will create a situation in which you will come to the unknown; by and by you will be pushed from your habitual , mechanical, robot-like personality. be courageous: practise Dynamic Meditation vigorously and all else will follow. it will not be you doing, it will be a happening" OSHO - Meditation the art of ecstasy With Love and Hugs, Bodhiprem * If you are coming along for the first time, please arrive 10 minutes early for instructions, Please see below a link for the Dynamic Meditation Instructions: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjxr9MySioc&feature=youtu.be

The discussion topic for this meetup will be identity and whether or not history is a necessary condition for consciousness as Dretske proposed. James

## Overview Join us in person to explore the newest AI tools, master prompt engineering, and dive into large language models! ## Join Us for Graduate Pathways in AI! Ready to dive into the world of AI? Come explore the latest tools, get hands-on with prompt engineering, and uncover the magic behind LLMs (Large Language Models). This is an in-person event perfect for grads looking to boost their AI game. Don't miss out on networking, learning, and having fun with fellow AI enthusiasts! **Agenda** 6:00 PM - 6:15 PM Arrival + food + networking Check-in, pizza/soft drinks, quick intros. 6:15 PM - 6:25 PM Welcome + session framing What you’ll learn, how to use the session, and how Q&A/breakouts will work. 6:25 PM - 6:45 PM The LLM landscape in 2026 (practical view) What LLMs are good at vs. not good at. Common workflows teams use (research, analysis, content, coding assistance). Tool categories (models, chat UIs, notebooks, agent frameworks, evaluation/testing). 6:45 PM - 7:05 PM Prompt engineering + agentic AI (live examples) Prompt structure you can reuse: role, task, context, constraints, examples, evaluation. How to iterate: compare outputs, check assumptions, reduce hallucinations, get citations/traceability. Agentic workflows: when an “agent” helps (multi-step tasks, tool use, memory) and when it’s overkill. 7:05 PM - 7:20 PM Breakout circles (small groups) 7:20 PM - 7:27 PM Resources + next steps Share resource pack: tool list, learning roadmap, project ideas, evaluation checklist. 7:27 PM - 7:30 PM Surprise + close Surprise reveal and thank you

RSVP on our Meetup event >> https://www.meetup.com/gdg-melbourne/events/313164035/ RSVP Codeword: NEWYEAR Get ready for our first monthly meetup of the year! This event is hosted at the Mantel Group Office, with the recording of the talks to be shared afterwards on YouTube if you can't make it. There will be food, networking and some surprise swag! Agenda: 6:20 - Intro 6:30 - Talks 8:00 till late - networking & chat (& drinks optional) Talks and Speakers: Kotlin → C#; Experimenting with Cross-Runtime Interop by Isuru Rajapakse, Senior Android Developer at Motorola Solutions Kotlin is a warm, cozy blanket of null safety and garbage collection so that we don't gave to get our feet wet. But what happens when you rip that blanket away, compile your Kotlin code down to a C static library, and try to use it in a .NET application? I did it so you don't have to. And I brought the stack traces to prove it. From Hype to Hands-On: Building Smarter Apps with the Agent Development Kit by Lovee Jain, Google Developer Expert - Cloud | Senior Software Engineer @Prezzee AI agents are more than hype — they’re a new way to design applications. In this talk, we’ll take a practical look at the Agent Development Kit (ADK) and how developers can use it to orchestrate multi-agent workflows. We’ll explore agent types, chaining strategies, and how to integrate tools and context effectively. The session includes a demo of a point-based buying agent that showcases how agents can interact, make decisions, and deliver value in a real-world scenario. Expect less buzzword, more code, and practical lessons you can apply in your own projects. Agentic DevOps: I Gave AI Agents root access to a VM – Here’s What I Learned by Bishal Sapkota, Software Engineer | AI Solutions Architect | Co-founder at Outback Yak Real Automation, self patching, persistent memory, cron jobs, and the obvious loaded gun. How to find us: Doors open at 5:45 PM at our host the Mantel Group, Level 2/452 Flinders St Melbourne. Message via Meetup or Slack if you are arriving after 6:00 as the lifts won't let you up.  This is an in-person only event. If you have any accessibility requirements please reach out via the Meetup or Slack to the organiser group to discuss and we will do our best to help you out. Agenda --- Hosted By Katie Barnett, GDE Android / GDG Organiser Katie is passionate about all things Android. She has taken on a wide variety of challenging projects including in the live event, media and travel space. Her favourite thing is to see someone having a delightful experience using something she has worked on. Katie is very active in the development community, she is a Google Developer Expert for Android, one of the organisers of GDG Melbourne and is a Women Techmakers Ambassador. She frequently runs events, speaks on technical and non-technical topics and enjoys writing blog posts to share her experience with others. Katie is based in Melbourne, Australia but loves to travel the world and outside of tech she enjoys boardgaming and attempting to finish many craft projects. Suesi Tran, Senior Flutter Developer Google Developer Expert in Dart, Flutter & Firebase, Women Techmaker Melbourne ambassador, GDG Melbourne & Flutter Melbourne co-organiser. In short: Flutter is love, and mobile is life. Poornima Sivakumar, GDG Organiser Lovee Jain, GDG Organiser Lovee is a Software Engineer at Prezzee, a GDG Melbourne Organiser and also a Women Techmakers Ambassador. A tech inquisitive philomath, she loves problem solving and solution design. She has worked at a city council where she developed a lot of useful system integrations and while at Prezzee she develops and works on multiple gift card solutions to cater the B2B2C market. Zach Jensz, GDG Organiser Passionate about the web, seamless UX and accessibility. I love attending meetups, find me and come say hi! Ujjawal Raj, GDG Organiser Bramley Turner-Jones, GDG Organiser Yuba Raj (UV) Panta, GDG Cloud Organiser Kartik Arora, Android Engineer Google Developer Expert in Android Android Engineer @ Bilue Carolyn Ai Chi Wong, Complete your event RSVP here: https://gdg.community.dev/events/details/google-gdg-melbourne-presents-gdg-melbourne-february-2026-meetup/.

**"TechWalking" - Networking + Walking** Are you a tech professional looking to network beyond the screen? Look no further than my upcoming #TechWalking event! ‍♀️ Join us for a refreshing Yarra River Short City Loop. It’s the perfect chance to connect with industry peers while getting in some steps! I know many of you have been tuning in to my online events, but we've never had the opportunity to meet in person. Let's change that! Check out the video from the last event: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Z955MaRHSqI We'll kick things off at **5.30 pm sharp** at Federation Square. Please, don't be late! We're hitting the trail around the river as soon as we gather. And trust me, you won't want to miss it – unless you're up for a bit of a sprint to catch up! (we're going clockwise) Meeting point: Mamas Gozleme, 14 Birrarung Marr Walk, Melbourne VIC 3000 https://maps.app.goo.gl/wDruvccNUzSWkV8y5 This event is pet and kid-friendly, as long as your little ones and furry friends can manage a 3 km walk, they're more than welcome to join. Looking forward to meeting you all in real life! *** Subscribe to YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@ITCareerinAustralia Follow me on LinkedIn for more information: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yana-martens/ Just moved to Australia? Grab your FREE guide to land your tech job! [https://yanamartens.com/first-tech-job-in-australia/](https://yanamartens.com/first-tech-job-in-australia/) Need more support? Join our 8-week program! https://www.meetup.com/it-career-in-australia/events/312469499/

Join the Columbus AI community for our quarterly gathering — a casual, community-focused evening where everyone has a chance to share, learn, and connect. These open mic–style events give anyone in the community up to **5 minutes** to present a project, share a tool, pose a question, or offer a perspective on the evolving AI space. No slides required — just a welcoming space to exchange ideas and keep the local AI conversation moving. If you’d like to take the stage, message **Chris (the organizer)** with a **title and short description** of what you’d like to share. Whether you’re deep in the field or just getting curious, come connect with others building and exploring AI in Columbus. Sponsored by [Transform Labs](https://www.transformlabs.com/services)

Bring your Raspberry Pi, Arduino, microcontroller, or any other electronic project and join fellow electronics makers for a night of creativity and collaboration! This session is open forum to share your current projects—whether complete or in progress, it’s all interesting! Whether you’re deep into embedded systems, exploring new ideas, or just getting started, you’ll find a welcoming space to collaborate, share, and get inspired. (NOTICE - Location change!) This session will be at the Karl Road Branch of the Columbus Library in the Conference Room 2.

We will show a variety of methods for building agents that run in Microsoft Foundry. This covers the different types of agents: Prompt, Multi, and Hosted, as well as the development lifecycle using evals and traces.

**Important time note:** Please plan on arriving between 5:30 and 6:00 as the elevators lock after 6 and you'll need to message us and we'll need to come get you. The building address is 4450 Bridge Park The entrance is 6620 Mooney St, Suite 400 You will need to scan your ID at the door to get a visitor badge. **Abstract** *Spec-Driven Development with GitHub Spec-Kit: From Intent to Implementation* Spec-driven development flips the traditional workflow on its head: instead of code being the source of truth, the specification becomes the backbone of design, collaboration, and delivery. In this session, we’ll explore how GitHub Spec-Kit enables teams to treat specifications as first-class artifacts—living documents that drive architecture, implementation, and verification. You’ll learn how Spec-Kit helps teams clearly express intent using structured, version-controlled specs that live alongside code. We’ll walk through a practical workflow that starts with defining system behavior and constraints, then progressively refines those specs into testable, automatable outcomes. Along the way, we’ll show how specs can reduce ambiguity, improve cross-functional collaboration, and make design decisions explicit before a single line of production code is written. This talk will cover: --What spec-driven development is (and what it isn’t) --How GitHub Spec-Kit fits into modern developer workflows --Using specs to align product, engineering, and AI-assisted development --Real-world examples of turning specs into implementations with confidence Whether you’re building greenfield systems, integrating AI into your stack, or trying to reduce costly rework, spec-driven development offers a scalable way to move faster without sacrificing clarity. Attendees will leave with concrete patterns and a clear mental model for adopting GitHub Spec-Kit in their own projects. **YouTube Link** TBA

Meeting @ Improving's office in Downtown Columbus, near Cosi. Parking is paid, food & drink are free! This time we're hanging out after the long winter break. We are going to look at a group-member's project used to help learn the fundamentals of Go, and if time allows, we can take a look at how we like to build Go projects using AI.

**New Dojo Location!** **Draft Day Columbus** 1130 Dublin Road Columbus, OH 43215 We're going to try a new dojo location for a few weeks and see how it works Dojos are informal Python group study sessions where everyone interested in Python gathers to learn about Python, help others with Python, or just hang out. Everyone is welcome from Python beginners to experts. Bringing a laptop is encouraged (we'll have extension cords and power strips). If there's something you want to learn leave a comment on this invite so we can plan ahead. We're looking for topic suggestions and people interested in presenting at our monthly meetings. To this end we've set up a survey form at [https://docs.google.com/forms/d/15eBKF1nQQ2XS5gzD4rvhVRHMBEj7lJtHuA9wXupS3Uc](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/15eBKF1nQQ2XS5gzD4rvhVRHMBEj7lJtHuA9wXupS3Uc)

Join other experienced and aspiring agile coaches and professionals to: * develop and practice your coaching skills in a peer-to-peer environment * share current successes and challenges in your work environment and get support from each other * learn from each other, build better relationships and experiment with new ideas