Dorkbot returned after the summer break last night, with a new focus on workshop-led presentations.

First up was Null Hypothesis who gave a whistle stop tour of some new (and slightly left field) science and technology, including Motorola’s air freshener dispensing phone handset and the dressing room mirror that sends MMS pictures of you trying on clothes to a friend for an honest opinion.

Null Hypothesis was set up by three Bristol university PhD students to poke fun at the world of science and technology and challenge the myths often created by inaccurate scientific reporting. Originally set up as a journal, a meeting with Dragon’s Den encouraged them to set up a website and they now have global reach, a column in The Daily Telegraph and are writing a book. Read more unlikely science at the site.

Next up was John Honniball on Microcontrollers. Offering an overview of the many things microcontrollers enable you to make (from synthesizers to robots), dorkbotters were invited to design and programme a new pattern for John's LED wand. View photos.