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Hands-on with BITalino, a microcontroller board for quirky and serious projects alike (video)
It's safe to say that BITalino isn't your average DIY electronics board. For starters, the sensors that spring from the main unit (which comprises the microcontroller, Bluetooth module and power unit) are more at home in a hospital than they are scattered over a tinkerer's workstation. Jutting off the main board are a light meter, accelerometer, heart-rate sensor (ECG), muscle activity sensor (EMG) and a sensor to measure sympathetic nervous system activity (EDG). There's also a standard LED, and while all the above forms a single structure, each module can be snapped off to mix and match for specific projects. BITalino is a semi-finalist in our Insert Coin competition being held at Expand NY this weekend, but before that kicks off, we caught up with its creator Hugo Silva to talk about the board's inception, applications and what lies in its future.
Insert Coin semifinalist: BITalino is a self-contained physiological tinker lab
You might be asking yourself, do we really need another electronics tinkertoy / microcontroller kit? And we say, you can never have too much of a good thing. BITalino takes the standard setup, and includes all the sensors you could want to get started building your next DIY project. There's a light sensor, an accelerometer, as well as sensors for electromyography, electrocardiography and electrodermal activity. All that data can then be fed to a host machine over Bluetooth. It even comes in a variety of forms: one where the sensors can be unplugged and rearranged, one where the components sit on perforated boards that can be snapped off should you want to position the sensors away from the main board and one where the company has already disassembled the various components for you. You can see all of the Insert Coin semifinalists here.
