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模块旨在使电子发明变得轻而易举

该sandhanaseptember 15，2013littlebits模块的目的是使电子发明的一snap

littleBits电子积木让孩子和成人创建简单的电路或创造性的项目（照片：littleBits）

图像画廊（19张）
奶妈比德尔使命是将电子DIY的更广泛的受众与收集积木叫littleBits。彩色编码成不同的类别，这些电路板模块可以被组合在一起，用磁铁和结合日常物品从黑暗中木偶焕发泡沫吹笛子做什么…无论你的想象力能想到的，都没有任何电子或设计专业知识。

“为什么不能结合木材和光的感觉，或冰棒棍与声音、动作灵敏度？”问比德尔，TED的高级研究员和麻省理工学院的毕业生创办的纽约通过littleBits 2011。

每个littleBits套件包含一个收集电子位磁扣合在一起，让用户创建设备原型和好玩的玩具。他们把烙铁和布线的需要，把复杂的电子元件为基本模块如开关、电机、连接器、传感器和蜂鸣器。

“他们本质上是物理材料与数字的行为，通过“比德尔说。”没有理由你应该是触觉和数字之间做出一个选择，打在地板上用你的双手之间，或编程在屏幕上。”

替代物理规划的具体行为通过电子设备的连接，包括表盘和开关位允许用户程序的行为更简单。例如打开一个脉冲点，表盘，它会更快或更慢，这取决于方向的转变。

”可以嵌入智能行为与滚轮开关，类似于激活冰箱灯的开关，或与或非门（逻辑门是程序设计基础），解释说：”比德尔。”我们上课和肖像，我们习惯从消费电子每天（转盘、按钮、开关）并将它们应用于小部件，并让你学会飞行的能力，无需编程或电线或焊接。”

littleBits可以结合其他材料工艺对象和玩具产生任何品种的混合创作。比德尔希望位将作为一个工具来把想法生活。例如，一个由点的首席设计师霍尔迪博拉斯结合马剪纸3 LED创造了马的旋转木马，直流电动机和一个声音传感器，使传送带被拍激活。

鲨鱼含有五位模块：直流电机模块、电源模块，RGB LED模块、滑动调光模块、资讯模块（照片：littleBits）

< / P > < P >“我最喜欢的一个作品是一个孩子不断的重塑：兄弟报警，说：”比德尔。”一些孩子们把一个动作传感器和一个蜂鸣器结合起来，这样当他们的兄弟进来时，他们发出警报声。另一些人则把它放在了一个电动标志的[那就是说]不让他们的兄弟姐妹。这可以说是一个小邪恶但我爱，我们以兄弟姐妹竞争到电子领域。”

一边使开放式的游戏部分可以建成艺术装置。在现代艺术博物馆（MOMA）店最近显示的4英尺高的动力学雕塑用木材、亚克力、纸板，动画与littleBits。

其他作品包括3英尺鲨鱼与关节移动借助一个伺服电机和运动悬挂的木偶，变化自己的方向当它击中天花板或地板。通过对点的网站提交的孩子的项目包括一个球的怪物，怪物的舌头，扔在一个球会的眼睛旋转，一个蛋杯，费里斯轮和铝箔种族鼓风机BOT。

公司正在创造越来越多的图书馆littleBits和计划继续建立其收集准备使用电子位看技术我们周围和蒸馏成最重要的相互作用。

“iPod，这是触控灵敏度，所以我们做了一个压力传感器，试图模仿，比德尔说，“通过”。在手机上，它的振动电机，所以我们有一个感应电动机允许你把事情抖。littleBits系统，虽然它的使用非常简单，其实是一个非常强大的和复杂的电子系统。所以真的有什么砖可以使没有限制。”

而没有透露关于littleBits下一代的全部细节，比德尔说无线littleBits使一个在房间做创作的作品。公司于9月14日推出三个新的包，99美元的littleBits基础套件，littleBits溢价包为149美元和199美元的豪华套件。

看看视频下面的更多例子，littleBits创作。

源littleBits < / P >