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Can littleBits' Lego-like kits democratize DIY engineering?
What happens when you look to get more out of your engineering knowledge? For littleBits CEO Ayah Bdeir, that meant making electronics and programming accessible to everyone, regardless of skill level. The company's Lego-like smart toys can be used to build any number of things: from a simple blinking LED to a custom-built synthesizer or smart thermostat. And, as we found out, the company plans for its DIY modules to get even smarter. With those endless possibilities in mind, we caught up with the littleBits' founder to chat "making" made easy, why gender has no role in tech and the future, DIY-connected household.
LittleBits' latest module lets you connect your creations to the internet
The magnetic, interconnecting circuit boards that make up LittleBits' library of electronic modules make it easy to build all sorts of neat (and noisy) devices with almost no technical knowledge at all -- but if you want to create something that connects to the cloud, you're out of luck. Well, you were: today LittleBits is announcing the Cloud Bit, a new module that, as company CEO and founder Ayah Bdeir puts it, allows builders to "just add internet" to almost anything. Bdeir tells me that it's gives the average person an easy and open way to contribute to the Internet of Things without wasting time prototyping devices from scratch. She also says that the module is a landmark in changing the perception of LittleBits from toy, to tool.
Live from Expand: The Industrial Revolution Starts at Home
This is going to be a fun one. We've brought some of the top names in the maker space to discuss the world of do-it-yourself electronics. We'll be joined by master modder Ben Heck, littleBits founder Ayah Bdeir and Make Magazine Editor-in-Chief Mark Frauenfelder. November 10, 2013 10:20:00 AM EST Follow all of Engadget's Expand coverage live from New York City right here!
Peripheral Vision 011: Ayah Bdeir on the importance of knowing how your electronics work
"I didn't set out originally to start a company," explains Ayah Bdeir. "I was trying to solve a problem." She's seated in the solution, a sunny office space in downtown Manhattan. A portable dividing screen provides some semblance of privacy, separating us from a space packed to the gills with makers and engineers tinkering with LittleBits' newest products. The company is in the pre-holiday push, bringing 20 new modules to market, additions that bring the total number of available Bits to 60. In amongst the explosion of microcontrollers like Arduino and RaspberryPi, Bdeir's company offers something different: utter simplicity. LittleBits are targeted firmly as those with the desire to create, but largely lacking the technical expertise to do so - people curious about how their smartphones work, but with no idea where to begin looking. "I realized that electronics govern our lives and people don't understand them," Bdeir continues. "There are all of these tools available to hobbyists and tech enthusiasts, but what if you don't want to go through the step learning curve? We have to speak to the wider crowd, people who are not necessarily sold on the idea that they have to know how to wire a circuit or make something move." Bdeir will be appearing this weekend at Engadget Expand in New York City.
littleBits hands-on: LEGO blocks for future electrical engineers
We haven't checked in with littleBits in quite some time and, honestly, it was a bit of a surprise to find the electronic tinker toys hiding in a quiet corner of the floor at Toy Fair this year. The property has grown quite a bit in the past few years. For one, it's no longer a "project" but an actual shipping product. And in the last year founder Ayah Bdeir has turned it from a great concept into an actual company with serious investors. For those of you unfamiliar with littleBits, the goal is to do for electronics what LEGO did for structural engineering. The small color coded "blocks" snap together with magnets allowing even a novice to create a functioning circuit in seconds. The magnets will only connect in one orientation, preventing you from pushing current through a component in the wrong direction and ruining it. Ayah's inspiration is not just LEGO, but object oriented programing languages that simplify building code, allowing developers to focus on the more creative aspects of software making. By doing some of the heavy logical lifting for you, littleBits hopes that potential electrical engineers and prototypers can focus on the goal rather than the minutia of laying out a breadboard or soldering resistors in place. The latest version of the platform, v0.3, debuted just a couple of months ago and not only brings new pieces to the littleBits universe, but also adds legs to the blocks for improved stability when piecing together your projects. Currently there are four kits available: the three piece Teaser kit for $29, the seven piece Holiday kit for $49, the 10 piece Starter kit for $89 and the 14 piece Extended kit for $149. (You can also buy individual Bits for between $10 and $35.) If you're in need of inspiration there are a number of projects for you peruse on the site and the company is even considering packaging them up as pre-planned kits. Though, unlike other electronics project bundles (such as the ubiquitous BrushBot), the magnetic pieces can easily be disassembled and re-purposed if you tire of your creation. While the concept has its roots in brands like Snap Circuits, littleBits definitely provides more freedom than those single purpose offerings. For more, check out the video after the break.
