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

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

#61

Post by Koshkin »

prmoustache wrote: post #47
TamDenholm wrote: post #26

This reminds me of LittleBits [1] many years ago i bought a kit from them that was really very expensive and had some fun. The only problem is i never touched them again after the first couple of weeks of playing with them. However, they're certainly an excellent learning tool for kids and beginners. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LittleBits

That's the problem with this kind of things. They mostly attract people interested in tech, but those kind of people are usuallt already working in tech. As much as I love those things, the last thing I want when I lock my laptop is start coding and fiddling with electronic devices. I either have to take care of the kids or go for a bicycle ride, spend time with my partner, have a beer or the sea/beach or all of the…

Indeed, people have reported having drawers full of Raspberry Pi’s, never to be touched again.

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

#62

Post by ricardobeat »

kumarvvr wrote: post #56
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.

I am floored by the design. However, the most complex and costly part is the PCB and circuit design. The PCBs used in the blocks are absolutely awesome. Thanks to 3D printers that are cheap, the casing and other plastic materials are easy to make. All that being said, this has very low chance of becoming a real world product. Real world is messy, dirty, wet and an absolutely shitty place for snap on electronics. What…

The way to that cyberpunk world that lives in collective imagination is to make electronics work in messy, dirty, wet environments, not try to shield them from it.

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

#64

Post by renonce »

philliphaydon wrote: post #29
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.

1 person? Man it's an absolutely incredible feat. I'm also blown away, and I want to play around with it. I would love to try and automate parts of the house and such.

Pockit is just one of the small parts needed to automate parts of your house. All your devices have to cooperate smoothly and this will require a standardized IoT API from manufacturers.

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

#65

Post by Koshkin »

corobo wrote: post #57
mib32 wrote: post #54

Man I so much wish to do something like that, but 40 hour job eats all the time. Can somebody give an advice how to find time to doing such interesting things?

What do you do outside of the 40 hour job?

Spending the money earned, too, takes time.

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

#68

Post by tjchear »

Seeing Pockit gives me an idea: can we do something similar for Web APIs?

Perhaps a web app with a 2D board where users can place modular blocks the same way one would place Pockit blocks on the magnetic breadboard. We could have a geolocation module, vibration module, button module, slider module, camera module, etc. Like Pockit, the system finds a script with the closest matching blocks to what's placed on the grid, and runs the script. E.g placing a camera flashlight module + button module on the grid triggers a script that would toggle the light when the button is pressed. User could also write their own scripts.

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

#69

Post by punnerud »

tjchear wrote: post #68

Seeing Pockit gives me an idea: can we do something similar for Web APIs? Perhaps a web app with a 2D board where users can place modular blocks the same way one would place Pockit blocks on the magnetic breadboard. We could have a geolocation module, vibration module, button module, slider module, camera module, etc. Like Pockit, the system finds a script with the closest matching blocks to what's placed on the grid…

How would that be different from NodeRed? https://nodered.org/

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

#70

Post by severak_cz »

tjchear wrote: post #68

Seeing Pockit gives me an idea: can we do something similar for Web APIs? Perhaps a web app with a 2D board where users can place modular blocks the same way one would place Pockit blocks on the magnetic breadboard. We could have a geolocation module, vibration module, button module, slider module, camera module, etc. Like Pockit, the system finds a script with the closest matching blocks to what's placed on the grid…

It's already done. This is how these "website builders" (e.g. Wix) works - your put different modules onto a template and build your site out of these.

Also Drupal and Wordpress have similar funcionality via plugins.

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