People often say start-ups have gotten easier because technology is cheaper, but sometimes the technology can be cheap and still inaccessible.
“It always gave me confusion as to why devices would be $10,000, $100,000, when the base technologies are so cheap,” said Hugo Silva, co-founder of health startup PLUX.
The solution Silva came up with was Bitalino earlier this year, the first kit of its kind.
“You have platforms like Arduino and Raspberry Pi, you have devices up there but none of them especially focus on body sensors,” Silva said.
Bitalino, one of the Engadget Insert Coin finalists featured at Expand NY Nov. 9–10, is made to respond specifically to physiological input, such as muscle movement, light, and heart rate. Silva plans to crowdfund the project in order to develop special kits to sell, closer to the $100 price point.
The technology will be of great use to students, who typically have to wait until they’re getting a masters or doctorate in order to use the equipment, and allow researchers to gather signals from many people at once, Silva said.
The kit appeals to makers and developers as well, and has been used to create muscle-controlled locks and a system to monitor household plants. Now, Silva is starting to reach out to the medical industry to further implement the uses. It’s an advantageous way for companies to lower their costs, Silva said, and the ECG gathering capabilities was recently verified as near 100 percent exact.
Muscles are all over a person’s body, so muscle control can lend to many uses as well. The technology could be used to enable a paraplegic to maneuver his wheelchair with a blink of his eye, Silva said as he powered an electric toy car by squeezing his hand.
Wide Appeal
Ayah Bdeir had the idea to not just simplify something to its base technologies, but make that accessible to everyone. Bdeir created littleBits—kits of tiny circuit board modules that snap together with magnets. No wiring and no programming is required for someone to begin building electronics, “to make complex things.”
“We want to reach people outside the choir, we want to get everybody to create and invent with electronics,” said Bdeir Friday at Expand NY.
The bits, which take a cue from LEGO in building physical objects, are color coded and intuitive, aimed at making electronics easier to work with and easier to understand for anyone. The modules include light, sensors, motors, and “every single interaction in the world can be turned into a brick,” Bdeir explained.
While the simplicity delivered makes it accessible for anyone interested in learning more about electronics to take matters into their own hands, people who don’t have projects in mind might hesitate.
Bdeir sought to solve the problem by “putting the power” into people’s hands—with music.
Last week littleBits launched the Synth Kit, a set of modules modeled after the KORG synthesizer’s parts to allow users to create their own music.
The modules function the same way the other bits do, and are compatible with any of the other modules.
“Music is a field that’s riddled with complex technology, apps, and equipment, and most of us don’t understand how it works,” Bdeir said. “We would like to enable everyone to make something that makes music.”
And there isn’t anyone who doesn’t love music in some way or form.
Also launched last week was Singtrix, a karaoke system that makes anyone sound good. And if you’re already good, you’ll sound great.
The kit comes with a mic, speakers, and a filtering module that enhances your voice. Singtrix was created by John Devecka, who created the music arcade game Drumscape that eventually led to GuitarHero; Eric Berkowitz, who was also involved with Drumscape; and Kai and Charles Huang.
“Not only was it a fun game but it let people who were never going to play music to be a rockstar for just a little bit—and it truly worked,” Berkowitz said. “The more they game, the better they actually got. Over time, we really saw a lot of people become drummers.”
Singtrix would work in a similar way. People who would never sing outside their shower would feel confident getting behind the mic, knowing they sound good.
“And once people sound good, they have fun. And once people have fun, they do it again—and once they do it again, they get better,” said Sam Stevens of Singtrix. “It’s this progression that makes it a cool thing.”
The enhancement comes at three levels, and over 300 sound presets, ranging from adding in what sounds like back-up voices, to just slightly nudge the singer in tune. Singtrix also works with any 3.5mm input, so there’s no song library restriction and users can import anything from their mobile devices, or even YouTube.
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