A few very cool open sourced hardware projects in the Internet of Things space this week. The Chrome Web Lab exhibition at the London Science Museum concluded yesterday, but Google have released the plans for a couple of the projects: the Universal Orchestra and Sketchbots. The first, Web Lab Orchestra, allows multiple users to control hardware that plays physical instruments, collaboratively and in real time, using a browser-based loop sequencer interface form anywhere in the world.
The second, the Sketchbots system, automatically generates contour line drawings based on an image. The software can control a robot that draws the image, in the case of the Web Lab exhibition, by dragging a stylus around in a bed of sand.
The is also a software only version, and the code for a BergCloud LittlePrinter. If oyu haven’t come across the BergCloud device before, it’s a very endearing internet-connected micro-printer with all sorts of applications, from automating ordering, to keeping your family in touch, and is a very neat way to help information ‘break free’ from behind the screen.
While these projects are, mostly, just a bit of fun, they do show how technology is being used to bridge the online and offline worlds, and Google’s eagerness to accelerate development in this area (likewise, with Google Glass).
