From Pixels to Plastic
Images: tinker.it’s simple USB sensor interface, by mbiddulph, and a grab of Teddy Bear Remote Control at instructables.com.
The design desirability would be unimportant except that physical computing is way more practical than it used to be.
So there’s a continuum which is now open to us.
The Arduino chipset – cheap and available online – is a simple way to start experimenting with physical computing. This prototyping toolkit, available at tinker.it, is as close to plug and play experimentation as I’ve seen. You slot the sensors on the board, it’s super easy to program, and you can immediately try out having applications on your computer control displays and lights in the world, or sensors on your desk affecting your desktop or websites via your computer.
The knowledge of how to use this technology is accessible too. There’s a strong developer community and traditional of sharing code around the Arduino. And people are sharing how to make products, too. Instructables is one such website. Clear and simple instructions, with annotated photographs, written by members of the community, of everything from how to solder to make a fully wired-up remote control teddy bear.
Then there are tools like Google Sketchup let us learn 3D drawing, in preparation for fabricating 3D objects—rapid-prototyping machines are not yet cheap, but they are accessible and affordable… and a vital step in prototyping products, which is necessary for going to manufacture or getting business funding.
Finally there’s business. China helps with the manufacture. The internet lets us talk directly to component companies. Factories are easier to talk to that ever.
All of this is accessible. And I’m just ignoring the shift that’s already happened with software because of the internet. We take it for granted that individuals and small companies can be as capable – or more capable, and more agile – than big companies.
Do i mean everything we can think of is easier to do?
No.
Yes: Hardware apis and a serial socket on your washing machine, to encourage a developer-led secondary market.
No: An autonomous robot arm writing your email.