The Legit Baines Blog

Hallam University Taught Me New Things Plus Also How to Learn Even More Now that I've finished my university journey, I’ve been reflecting on how much I’ve grown, not just in terms of knowledge, but in the very process of learning itself. University has opened my eyes to entire worlds of technology I never imagined exploring, from databases to Artificial Intelligence (AI), and from the Internet of Things (IoT) to programming. But what stands out most to me is how university has taught me not just new things, but also how to learn new things, even on my own. The New Things I’ve Learned When I first walked into university, I had a basic understanding of technology and programming. But the subjects I’ve encountered throughout my studies have completely transformed my perspective on what is possible. Here are just a few of the most exciting things I’ve learned: 1. Databases Learning about databases has shown me how the power of data is structured, stored, and retrieved. I never tr...

I have always been good with numbers, when I was at school I did my Maths GCSE a year early and got a B. Unfortunately I had a lot of bad things going on in my life at the time so I didn’t go forward with University at that time.  Fast forward a decade or two and now I’m a recent graduate from Hallam University , I went there as a mature student to do a degree in computing and the course involved loads of data related modules. During my Computing course at Hallam University I spent a lot of time learning about data, databases, data cleaning , data processing, data management, data analytics and data visualisations . The course also involved a number of assignments that included a power point presentations in front of tutors and answering their questions about the work afterwards. Presentations were something I was very comfortable doing. I learned to collect raw sensor data using a Raspberry Pin (or from a pico using micropython/circuitpython), I learned that it is absolu...

  Bar Billiards Auto-Score 🏆🏆🏆 ─ President Cuthbert Baines The Bar Billiards Premier League Sheffield Overview We want to use IOT and smart technologies to create a computerised system that will automatically detect when a players has scored points, keep track of their score for them and display the score on screen for them. The system should also include the clock, the rules and instructions as required. Specifications The system should not have any affect on the Bar Billiards game itself, the players should not be required to stop playing to wait for a computer to load data or process data. Milestones Create Python based program that keeps track of the scores for the Bar Billiards players while displaying the scores on screen when the players manually input them into a hand held raspberry pi/pico powered device with an attachment that enables user input. The timer/alert indicating the bar dropping should become part of the program. Instructions/advi...

What My RiverProject is about and Why Sensor Data + MQTT is Revolutionising Environmental Monitoring  💻📶📡📠📉📊📈💹 River Project Repository My  RiverProject , hosted on GitHub, is an ambitious and practical environmental sensing system I built as part of my Year 2 project at Sheffield Hallam University. The core of the project involves collecting real-world sensor data - from a Sense HAT attached to a Raspberry Pi processing that data, and sending it in JSON format via the lightweight messaging protocol MQTT so it can be visualised and analysed elsewhere. GitHub At its heart, RiverProject exemplifies a modern approach to environmental monitoring: shifting away from manual data collection and towards continuous, automated remote sensing . In my project I gather environmental data, create rolling averages, and publish that information through MQTT to other platforms for dashboard visualisation - which can be invaluable for spotting trends or triggering alerts. GitHub Why...

  What is Embedded Systems and why am I into it? 📠📟📞📥📤📬📫📰📲📱📴📳💾💽💻💹 Embedded systems are the quiet workhorses of modern technology. They are specialized computers built into larger products to perform specific tasks, often with strict requirements around timing, reliability, and power consumption. Unlike general-purpose computers such as laptops or smartphones, embedded systems usually run a single application and are designed to do it extremely well. From washing machines and microwave ovens to cars, medical devices, and industrial robots, embedded systems are everywhere, even if we rarely notice them. 🚦🚨🚥 The role of an embedded systems engineer is to design, build, and maintain the software—and sometimes the hardware—that makes these systems function. This often means working close to the metal: writing low-level code in languages like C or C++, configuring microcontrollers, and interacting directly with sensors, motors, and communication interfaces. An embedd...