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LightUp electronic blocks and AR app teaches kids circuitry basics (hands-on)
There are plenty of kits out there designed to help kids learn the ins and outs of electronics, but LightUp hopes to stand out from the crowd with not just easy-to-use building blocks but an accompanying augmented reality app as well. From resistors and LED modules to light sensors, each block represents a real component that can be attached to each other via magnetic connectors, hopefully creating a circuit in the process. LightUp even offers an Arduino-compatible microcontroller block to help kids start coding -- clip the programming wand to the block, hook it up to your computer, and away you go. What really sets LightUp apart is the aforementioned AR app. Simply snap a picture of your circuit, and the software will let you know what's wrong with it if there's a mistake. If everything's working, it'll display an electrical flow animation atop the picture, showing kids the magic of electricity. We had a go at creating a circuit ourselves, and were delighted at how easy it was. The connectors fit in either direction, and can be attached and reattached with ease. We also saw a brief demo of the prototype application, and sure enough, it showed us when an LED block was placed backwards with an error message -- you can see it in action in the video below.
LED coffee table busts a multicolored move (video)
It might look like something out of MJ's Billie Jean, but this colorful LED array won't be under moonwalking foot -- that is, unless the party gets crunk. This colorful grid is actually a table top, brought to you by way of TI's MSP430 microcontroller, and it knows how to get down. The table is made up of 128 frosted glass cubes, each apparently capable of emitting 16 million colors. Its creators also produced a special beat-detection software, that could very easily have your furniture outshining the bumpers and grinders at your next party. If you're looking for a little extra something from your coffee table, you can find full build instructions at the source link below.
Wearable lab coat TV packs thousands of LEDs, heads for Burning Man (video)
Sure, we've seen iPad hats and augmented reality tattoos, but a 60-inch display suitable for hours of wear under the hot Nevada desert sun? Well that's just crazy talk. Believe it or not, a one Dave Forbes built exactly that: a 12V battery powered, 160 x 120-pixel monitor capable of displaying standard NTSC analog video from an in-pocket iPod. The result is nothing short of incredible, but when you're building a wearable lab coat-based TV with thousands of LEDs and a pair of circuit boards, features like breathability and water-wicking tend to get overlooked. Forbes spent six months creating this ultimate gadget, which is likely to make quite the colorful splash when he shows it off next month at Burning Man. But with a multi-month time commitment and $20,000 price tag, we can't help but wonder what this 'brainiac' could have come up with were he to redirect those resources towards a super-slick tech project for the masses, instead.
iPhone-controlled LED suit is actually not going to Burning Man
Usually when we see apparel of this caliber completed around this time of year we can be sure it's headed to the Nevada desert, but no -- this exhilarating piece of wearable rave architecture is headed to DragonCon in Atlanta. Either way, dang! Video of the insanely-customizable blinkage after the break.
DS Fanboy Review: Brain Buster Puzzle Pak
Sometimes, a package doesn't really tell you what you need to know about a game -- and it can actually be misleading or off-putting. As tragic as the thought is, the box art for Brain Buster Puzzle Pak falls into that category. Up close, the art is rough, jagged, and looks like it might have been printed in someone's home office.So is the game also unfortunately bad? Not even a bit -- Agetec's Brain Buster Puzzle Pak lives up to its name and is packed, as promised, with an array of brain-busting puzzles. The puzzle standard, sudoku, is present, but BBPP brings in four other games as well, all presented by a professor who in no way resembles Dr. Kawashima. By that, we mean he actually has a body.
