Lakshmi SandhanaSeptember 15, 2013littleBits modules aim to make electronic invention a snap

littleBits electronic building blocks lets kids and adults create simple circuits or inventive projects (Photo: littleBits)

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Ayah Bdeir is on a mission to bring DIY electronics to a wider audience with a collection of building blocks called littleBits. Color-coded into different categories, these circuit board modules can be snapped together with magnets and combined with everyday objects to make anything from a glow-in-the-dark puppets to a bubble blowing flutes to ... whatever your imagination can conjure, and all without any specialist knowledge of electronics or design.

"Why not be able to combine felt with wood and light, or popsicle sticks with sound and motion sensitivity?" asks Bdeir, a TED Senior Fellow and MIT graduate who founded New York-based littleBits in 2011.

Each of the littleBits kits contain a collection of electronic bits that magnetically snap together letting users create device prototypes and fun toys. They do away with the need for soldering irons and wiring and break down complex electronic components into fundamental blocks such as switches, motors, connectors, sensors and buzzers.

"They are essentially physical materials with digital behaviors," Bdeir tells Gizmag. "There is no reason why you should make a choice between being tactile and being digital, between playing with your hands on the floor, or programming on a screen."

Instead of physically programming electronic devices for specific behaviors through connections, bits containing dials and switches allow users to program behaviors more simply. Turn a dial on a pulse bit, for instance, and it'll go faster or slower depending on the direction it's turned.

"You can embed intelligent behavior with roller switches, similar to the switch that activates a fridge light, or an AND and OR gate (logic gates are the fundamental of programming)," explains Bdeir. "We are taking lessons and iconography that we are used to every day from consumer electronics (dials, buttons, switches) and applying them to small components, and giving you the ability to learn on the fly, without programming or wiring or soldering."

littleBits can be combined with other materials such as craft objects and toys giving rise to any variety of mixed creations. Bdeir hopes that the bits will serve as a tool to bring ideas to life. For example, a horse carousel created by littleBit's lead designer Jordi Borras combines paper cutouts of horses with 3 LEDs, a DC motor and a sound sensor that allows the carousel to be activated by a clap.

Shark containing five Bits modules: dc motor module, power module, RGB LED module, slide dimmer module and wire module (Photo: littleBits)

"One of my favorite creations is one that kids are constantly reinventing: the sibling alarm," says Bdeir. "Some kids combine a motion sensor and a buzzer so that the alarm sounds when their brother comes in. Others take it further and put a motorized sign [that says] keep out that just scares their sibling. It’s arguably a little evil but I love that we are taking sibling rivalry into an electronic realm."

Aside of enabling open-ended playtime the bits can be built into art installations. The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) Store recently displayed 4 foot tall kinetic sculptures made with wood, acrylic and cardboard that were animated with littleBits.

Other creations include a 3-foot shark with articulations that move with the help of a single servo motor and a moving suspended puppet that changes its own direction whenever it hits the ceiling or the floor. Projects submitted by children on the littleBit's site include a ball monster, where throwing a ball on the monster's tongue gets the eye spinning, a Ferris wheel made with egg carton cups and a blower bot for aluminum foil races.

The company is creating a growing library of littleBits and plans to continue building its collection of ready-to-use electronic bits by looking at the technology that surrounds us and distilling it into the most important interactions.

"In an iPod, it was touch sensitivity, so we made a pressure sensor that tries to mimic that," Bdeir tells Gizmag. "In a cellphone, it’s the vibration motor, so we have a vibe motor that allows you to make things shake. The system of littleBits, even though it is very simple to use, is in fact a very powerful and complex electronic system. So there is really no limit to what bricks you can make."

While not revealing full details about the next generation of littleBits, Bdeir says that wireless littleBits enabling one to make creations across rooms are in the works. The company launched three new kits on September 14, the littleBits Base Kit for US$99, the littleBits Premium Kit for $149 and a Deluxe Kit for $199.

Check out the promo video below for more examples of littleBits creations.

Source littleBits

ittlebits模塊旨在使電子發明變得輕而易舉

該sandhanaseptember 15，2013littlebits模塊的目的是使電子發明的一snap

littleBits電子積木讓孩子和成人創建簡單的電路或創造性的項目（照片：littleBits）

圖像畫廊（19張）
奶媽比德爾使命是將電子DIY的更廣泛的受衆與收集積木叫littleBits。彩色編碼成不同的類別，這些電路闆模塊可以被組合在一起，用磁鐵和結合日常物品從黑暗中木偶煥發泡沫吹笛子做什麼…無論你的想象力能想到的，都冇有任何電子或設計專業知識。

“為什麼不能結合木材和光的感覺，或冰棒棍與聲音、動作靈敏度？”問比德爾，TED的高級研究員和麻省理工學院的畢業生創辦的紐約通過littleBits 2011。

每個littleBits套件包含一個收集電子位磁扣合在一起，讓用戶創建設備原型和好玩的玩具。他們把烙鐵和佈線的需要，把複雜的電子元件為基本模塊如開關、電機、連接器、傳感器和蜂鳴器。

“他們本質上是物理材料與數字的行為，通過“比德爾說。”冇有理由你應該是觸覺和數字之間做出一個選擇，打在地闆上用你的雙手之間，或編程在屏幕上。”

替代物理規劃的具體行為通過電子設備的連接，包括錶盤和開關位允許用戶程序的行為更簡單。例如打開一個脈沖點，錶盤，它會更快或更慢，這取決於方嚮的轉變。

”可以嵌入智能行為與滾輪開關，類似於激活冰箱燈的開關，或與或非門（邏輯門是程序設計基礎），解釋說：”比德爾。”我們上課和肖像，我們習慣從消費電子每天（轉盤、按鈕、開關）並將它們應用於小部件，並讓你學會飛行的能力，無需編程或電線或焊接。”

littleBits可以結合其他材料工藝對象和玩具産生任何品種的混合創作。比德爾希望位將作為一個工具來把想法生活。例如，一個由點的首席設計師霍爾迪博拉斯結合馬剪紙3 LED創造了馬的旋轉木馬，直流電動機和一個聲音傳感器，使傳送帶被拍激活。

鯊魚含有五位模塊：直流電機模塊、電源模塊，RGB LED模塊、滑動調光模塊、資訊模塊（照片：littleBits）

< / P > < P >“我最喜歡的一個作品是一個孩子不斷的重塑：兄弟報警，說：”比德爾。”一些孩子們把一個動作傳感器和一個蜂鳴器結合起來，這樣當他們的兄弟進來時，他們發出警報聲。另一些人則把它放在了一個電動標誌的[那就是說]不讓他們的兄弟姐妹。這可以說是一個小邪惡但我愛，我們以兄弟姐妹競爭到電子領域。”

一邊使開放式的遊戲部分可以建成藝術裝置。在現代藝術博物館（MOMA）店最近顯示的4英尺高的動力學雕塑用木材、亞克力、紙闆，動畫與littleBits。

其他作品包括3英尺鯊魚與關節移動借助一個伺服電機和運動懸掛的木偶，變化自己的方嚮當它擊中天花闆或地闆。通過對點的網站提交的孩子的項目包括一個球的怪物，怪物的舌頭，扔在一個球會的眼睛旋轉，一個蛋盃，費裏斯輪和鋁箔種族鼓風機BOT。

公司正在創造越來越多的圖書館littleBits和計劃繼續建立其收集準備使用電子位看技術我們周圍和蒸餾成最重要的相互作用。

“iPod，這是觸控靈敏度，所以我們做了一個壓力傳感器，試圖模仿，比德爾說，“通過”。在手機上，它的振動電機，所以我們有一個感應電動機允許你把事情抖。littleBits係統，雖然它的使用非常簡單，其實是一個非常強大的和複雜的電子係統。所以真的有什麼磚可以使冇有限製。”

而冇有透露關於littleBits下一代的全部細節，比德爾說無線littleBits使一個在房間做創作的作品。公司於9月14日推出三個新的包，99美元的littleBits基礎套件，littleBits溢價包為149美元和199美元的豪華套件。

看看視頻下麵的更多例子，littleBits創作。

源littleBits < / P >