A hackspace is necessary to tackle a mixed reality project. There are just too many unknown unknowns to try to go it alone. 

Fortunately for you, Cambridge Hackspace -- a cross between a hacker study hall, a workshop, and a local pub -- is nearby.

There are now hundreds of these places around the world. 

It takes a while to generate some momentum at a hackspace, but eventually you fall into a Tuesday night routine, tuned to the weekly "Open Projects Night." You maintain this routine right up until the arrival of COVID-19. It goes something like:

• Head directly home from work, grab a bite to eat, pick up my Photon and a few related tools.
• Start walking down Somerville Avenue (this is all happening around the Cambridge/Somerville border, in Massachusetts, USA) until you pass an old cemetery framed by a gothic black iron fence. Turn down the next alley. 
• Head towards the railroad tracks, past auto body guys drinking after-work beers around a smoking barbecue.
• Continue along the loading dock side of a well-worn warehouse. By this time you're hearing a few bands practicing: first a thrash metal outfit; then, as you turn the corner, a funk/soul band.
• Now you're at a beaten up metal door, secured with an industrial keypad lock. The door is plastered with stickers and scraps of tape from flyers past. Off to the left, there's a doorbell housed in a laser-cut plastic case labelled "Camb. Hackspace." It is glowing amber. A nearby arrow made of blue tape adds some emphasis. 
• You know the key code, so I push right in. More flyers are stuck to the bulletin board inside: guitarists wanted, bikes and amplifiers for sale - cheap.
• You walk past rehearsal spaces and artist studios, until you reach another locked door. You're here.
• Inside, it smells like scorched wood. A half dozen people are usually scattered about: a few guys standing next to the laser cutter (which accounts for the burnt wood smell); the rest are hunched over cafeteria tables, tinkering with laptops and breadboards bristling with wires and blinking lights. 
• A few people look up, and deadpan a greeting with a nod, or a distracted wave of a hand. 
• Among the people you regularly consult: co-founder Richard Hawthorn, president Ed Klacza, Travis Bumgarner, Blair Kenney, Max Rottersman, and many, many members and visitors.
• Even though you usually plan to just spend an hour (it's a work night), you will be here for at least two, possibly three.

On the Internet:

• Cambridge Hackspace
• Cambridge Hackspace blog
• Cambridge Hackspace YouTube channel
• Cambridge Hackspace on Facebook. 
• Richard Hawthorn's Twitter stream.
• Cambridge Hackspace on MeetUp