This is an amazing step forward in my view. I've been a fan of littleBits from the start and they've consistently delivered new and completely innovative modules on a regular basis. This latest development takes them into a whole new space. With their hardware development kit costing only $40 and having the ability to vote on modules from the community is amazing.
Already there are some great modules that you can reserve, the MakeyMakey module, and the Bare Conductive sensor (although I haven't actually received my Touch Board as yet). Even more exciting is the bleepDrum module, and the possibility of so many more audio and music related modules that could take littleBits into all sorts of directions.
I think that the bitLab is going to through up some really interesting ideas in the very near future. The only drawback, I'm going to end up buying them.
The DSP MIDI Synth is a pretty nice little kit for $30, but when you see that it came from a the MIDI plug it's even more impressive. I know that there will be DIY'ers and makers interested in this.
I love the look of this lovely little synth. I was hoping to get along to the demo of it on Arduino day on the 29th, but saw this on the Atmegatron site:
29th March - London Arduino To mark Arduino Day, London Arduino are holding a day of workshops, demos and talks. The event is currently sold out, but there is a waiting list for return tickets. If you're lucky enough to get a ticket you'll be able to see the Atmegatron in action and can give it a test drive yourself! London College of Communication Elephant and Castle London, SE1 6SB
Now this feels like a big step forward for Arduino. I read through the article on the Arduino blog and got to the cost and thought I'd mis-read it. Take a look for yourself.
Having already got the MeeBlip SE I think that the micro is going to be an essential next step for me. The micro Black has some awesome new features:
A compact, surface-mount design. Keeping micro little is a big goal. We’ve added features without expanding the footprint. As you can see in the image, that has meant squeezing a lot onto the board.
A USB port. MeeBlip micro still has standard DIN MIDI connections, but it adds USB. That means:
MIDI over USB. You can now connect to a computer without the need for a separate interface. (Class-compliant support means the iPad works, too, via a Camera Connection Kit.)
Easier programmability, over USB. The USB port also works for modifying MeeBlip micro’s firmware, so you can hack your micro or use firmware updates from us and other users – no more need for an additional hardware adapter.
Knobbier than ever. 16:1 multiplexing now lets you add more knobs – you can have one for each parameter and still have knobs left over. We have direct switch inputs, too.
No more lost patches. A snapshot save button writes the current patch to memory so that it’s saved when you turn off MeeBlip. You can change the default MIDI receive channel with that button, too.
There's more info on meeblip.com. Personally, I can't wait!
Any DIY'ers out there will be interested in the Instructables iOS app, which is free. Here's the short description of it.
From useful and entertaining how-tos and hacks, to delicious recipes and outrageous inventions, Instructables is the place to explore, document, and share your creations.
With over 100k tutorials in technology, workshop, living, and more, we have the largest collection of do-it-yourself projects created by others just like you.
We got the brand new Arduino Starter Kit from RS Components, so we were supposed to write a review. But then we were like 'why don't we show people what they can actually do with the kit!'
And as we are music (ehm, noise actually) lovers, we came up with the idea of making a synthesizer.
PART 1 - THE KIT
The kit and its content
PART 2 - LIGHT THEREMIN
We started by showing one of the projects you can find in the book that comes with the kit. It's basically the simplest Arduino based musical instrument, it features an LDR to control the pitch, a piezo and the tone library!
If you want to know more about it check this video - http://youtu.be/57S3dylfw3I
PART 3 - LIGHT CONTROLLED GRANULAR SYNTH
To build the synth we basically started from the Light Theremin and the Crystal Ball (http://youtu.be/TirVG6tmTnQ) projects that you can find into the kit.
We hacked an existing project called The Arduino Synthesizer (http://www.instructables.com/id/The-Arduino-Synthesizer/ - based on Auduino) and created a Light Controlled Granular Synth.
The Light Controlled Granular Synth features:
two oscillators
two LDRs to control the pitch for each oscillator
two potentiometers to control the decay for each oscillator
one LDR to control the grains repetition frequency
one LCD display
one button to choose from different modes and scales
