Armed with my starter kit (suitable for ages 10 years and up), I have made LED lights blink (and even dim!), motors whir, and a small servo turn back and forth, controlled in my final experiment by a bendy bit a plastic (a flex sensor).
It's great fun, but now I want to make a variety of physical scenes, hook them up to the internet, and allow the world to control them by websites, tweets, Flickr uploads... and on and on my fantasies go.
All this is yet to come but is part of an attempt on my part to get a better understanding (and play with), the Internet of Things.
Simply, this is a term coming into currency that describes how physical objects in our lives are becoming increasingly connected. An example is that (if you have the right equipment), you can program your TV via your phone, whilst you are out. But this is going to be a world of smart devices where communication will go in both directions - your fridge will know when you are low on milk and text you whilst your out, reminding you to get more.
There was an interesting BBC Radio4 talk by Russell Davies on the 21st September where he discusses his thoughts about this.
He also wrote a blog entry about what he had intended to say.
In his talk Davies quotes Clay Shirky, and it resonates deeply, so I leave you with it here:
"creating something personal, even of moderate quality, has a different kind of appeal than consuming something made by others, even of high quality"
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