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Pockit: A tiny, powerful, modular computer [video]

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Re: Pockit: A tiny, powerful, modular computer [video]

#131

Post by philote »

dusted wrote: post #84

it's super cool, but I have some difficulty finding a "not just playing around" use case for it, not because it's useless, but because I can't come up with a use case that would be dynamic.. I'd not want to pay for the modularity overhead for using them as, for instance, light switches around the house.. Anyone got some cool ideas for what to do with them?

I think it's a good prototyping tool, and also makes it easy to do smaller, temporary projects. For myself, I'd like to set up that motion-sensing camera feature to check when my dog sneaks down into the basement to pee. Or set up a display next to my kids' computers to alert them to go to sleep at a reasonable hour. Or set it outside to see when my neighbor's dog (or deer or other wildlife) comes into my yard. You could also use it to track who drives by your house and whether they're speeding. Or set it at your desk at work for a week and track how many times someone interrupts you. Or pull an elaborate April Fool's joke.

Re: Pockit: A tiny, powerful, modular computer [video]

#132

Post by vishkk »

papandada wrote: post #50
vishkk wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Whatever it was — a lie, the truth, or, most likely, their mix­ture — that caused me to make such a decision, I am im­mensely grateful to it for what appears to have been my first free act. It was an instinctive act, a walkout. Reason had very little to do with it. I know that, because I've been walk­ing out ever since, with increasing frequency. And not necessarily on account of boredom or of feeling a trap gaping;…

I'm not very well read but this writing seemed extraordinary. Turns out he won a Nobel prize for literature.

I have read a poem or two by him before, but never essays. I literally picked this book earlier this week and really liking it -- generally essays are hard for me, but he has kind of clicked for me. If anyone is interested, the excerpt is from an essay titled Less Than One, and the name of the book is also Less Than One, Selected Essays by Joseph Brodsky.

Re: Pockit: A tiny, powerful, modular computer [video]

#133

Post by criddell »

mib32 wrote: post #118
corobo wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What do you do outside of the 40 hour job?

Like, eating, walking out, talking with wife, reading something, playing xbox occasionally - like the things that I wanna keep even if I do the side project.

You would have to take the time from those things.

Re: Pockit: A tiny, powerful, modular computer [video]

#134

Post by snek_case »

nonrandomstring wrote: post #7

Sometimes the point of a technology is not its direct utility but to carry forth or promote an idea. Because of what's happening with climate, pollution and e-waste, the future is modular. Modular phones, computers, cars and even nuclear reactors. Having this kind of thing in schools helps kids get used to the idea that technology is configurable at the physical level without electronics skills. Strong interoperabili…

> Because of what's happening with climate, pollution and e-waste, the future is modular. Modular phones, computers, cars and even nuclear reactors.

Sounds cool, but the reality is that in order to get the best efficiency, you often want a purpose-built, specialized design. In the case of electric cars, you need your car to be very light and to have a very integrated design in order to maximize energy efficiency. I'm not sure what you mean by a modular car design, but you definitely can't fit any motors with any battery in any frame, that will just make for a car with terrible performance.

That being said, we should be designing things to maximize lifetime, and we should probably ban certain materials or construction techniques that make recycling difficult. Maybe we need to ban or heavily tax non-recyclable materials. We could also do more to build a legal framework around right to repair.

> Having this kind of thing in schools helps kids get used to the idea that technology is configurable at the physical level without electronics skills.

Kids is probably the best use case. As someone who makes things I look at this product and I think it's necessarily going to be more expensive and less flexible compared to alternatives. For kids though, this can be a gateway to make electronics less scary.

> Strong interoperability legislation should be a part of technology going forward. Industry will welcome and adapt to it because it's ultimately a better compromise than tougher regulation and export controls.

I agree. We should be strongly promoting (and maybe legally mandating) open, documented standards for everything.

Re: Pockit: A tiny, powerful, modular computer [video]

#135

Post by snek_case »

h0l0cube wrote: post #44
XorNot wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem with this idea is that it assumes we have to make trade offs: case in point, remember pre-smartphone? I had a PDA which didn't have a camera, didn't have wifi - just a hardwired connection. Now I have sitting next to me a smartphone which has 5 cameras, GPS, wifi, bluetooth, NFC, 128GB of storage and 4G. Basically on a mass production scale it is always going to be cheaper just to put every feature in one…

> Basically on a mass production scale it is always going to be cheaper just to put every feature in one device and build a billion of them. When it comes to physical widgets, there's a limit to how many you could practically have on one device. I think the real value here is that it could be open to market to allow a real diversity of physical augments allowing people to improvise devices that are unlikely to be man…

Why can't the widgets connect to a Raspberry Pi using USB ports? Using plain old USB ports as a connector is a downgrade in terms of aesthetics, but it's a massive upgrade in terms of reusability and versatility. All of a sudden, you can connect your sensors to laptops, PCs and Raspberry Pis alike. You can already get a webcam on eBay for $6. You could design any sensor and actuator to have a USB interface.

Don't get me wrong, like I said, USB devices would look less cute and tidy than the Pockit, and the Pockit is a great achievement, but USB devices truly are more simple and versatile.

Re: Pockit: A tiny, powerful, modular computer [video]

#136

Post by erulabs »

ibejoeb wrote: post #111
space_rock wrote: post #108

Can we get internet of things devices with power of ethernet? Seems so much easier that WiFi, Bluetooth and a battery and usb for recharging

That would be excellent. A little box that I can plug in with one wire and be done. Alternatively, I'd like a software product that makes it a snap to run programs on cloud provider but bridged/tunneled as if they were running on my local lan. I want it to support multicast dns and all of that stuff for things like sonos, zigby, chromecast, airplay, etc.

This is extremely close to what we're building at https://pibox.io if you're interested - although after some polls we decided to drop PoE on our first model. Just improved the mDNS support last night!

Re: Pockit: A tiny, powerful, modular computer [video]

#137

Post by hemloc_io »

Woah this is massively cool!

I've always wanted little bits and bobs of hardware to mess around with, but actually getting into the EE required for it is fun but time consuming.

This really fits right into what I'd want for something that allows for quick POCs, prototypes and just trying new stuff out.

I'd love to make things like a hacked together OP1! https://teenage.engineering/products/op-1

Re: Pockit: A tiny, powerful, modular computer [video]

#138

Post by whartung »

afarviral wrote: post #13

So cool. Anyone criticizing the real utility of one of these (e.g. calling it a toy) is not thinking long term. Over time a single unit could be repurposed for any number of distinct and serious usecases (home automation being the most natural fit, but many others), and this and its software are important steps toward a more robust and useful devices and less waste. Minitirized, waterproofed, secure and many more mod…

Honestly, it is a toy.

A very cool toy, a very sophisticated toy, but a toy nonetheless. There were in the past, and I think still today, electronic sets that let you click together modules with magnets to make circuits. It was a very handsy, easy way to play with electronics. But, in the end, that's what it was -- play and exploration.

The beauty of the concept is the easy interchange of the parts and such, and that's it downfall when you desire to render something down in to a "production" item. And by production, I mean something you're going to handle with any frequency. The ease of composability is counter to the hardening necessity for everyday use.

I supposed you could glue the parts together, but by that time whatever you made is now made of rather expensive components. Or they could offer an alternate mechanic to "realize" systems built for the longer term.

Until then, it's a wonderful toy. And that's not a bad thing.

Re: Pockit: A tiny, powerful, modular computer [video]

#139

Post by vanderZwan »

izzydata wrote: post #91
vanderZwan wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Arguably it would be better than current solutions because you can upgrade the modules that need upgrading while keeping the stuff that works, instead of throwing out everything and starting over.

Unless you want it to have a better computer. The computer doesn't seem modular to me. You can't quickly add additional or better memory. You can't replace the processor with a better one. The computer itself is a single entity that in many ways is less modular than a traditional desktop computer. Wouldn't a desktop with 100 USB ports be a modular computer in the same sense as this thing?

It's a 25 dollar Raspberry Pi, not a 1000 dollar desktop.

Re: Pockit: A tiny, powerful, modular computer [video]

#140

Post by symstym »

lanewinfield wrote: post #8

As far as I can tell, this is a single individual that has done all of this work. I am floored at the design and intricacy of this project. Really, truly blown away. I'm sure there are plenty of edge cases to correct for but I haven't gotten so excited by a demo in a long time. I've obviously signed up to learn more.

But remember, there's no such thing as a 10x engineer! /s
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