An Introduction
Google has invented a new platform called Project Bloks which is a new open hardware platform for teaching kids to code. It is a new platform to allow developers, designers and educators to build programming experiences to help kids learn to code. One of the most impressive features of this platform is that it makes code physical so that kids can play with them.
About Project Bloks
Project Bloks is a collaboration between Google’s Creative Lab division and Paulo Blinkstein, director of the transformative learning technologies lab at Stanford University. The concept is based on tangible programming which is a long-held theory to help kids play naturally and learn using their hands. This is the reason that making code similar to physical blocks is important. The Project Bloks system is made of three core components: the Brain Board, Base Boards and Pucks.
Brain Boards
The Brain Board provides power and connectivity and houses a processing unit based off of Raspberry Pi Zero. You can also interact with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth devices to connect multiple Base Boards to the Brain Board. It is the processing unit of the system and is built on a Raspberry Pi Zero. The boards can be covered with any material or form.
Base Boards
Base Boards read a Puck’s instructions and feature a modular design. They are modular and can be connected in sequence and in different orientations. Base Boards create different programming flows and experiences. Each base board comes with a haptic motor and LEDs.
Pucks
Pucks are versatile and bring the flexibility of software programming commands to tangible programming experiences. They are programmed with different instructions and can take any shape and form.
Wrapping Up
Project Bloks has been designed with an attempt to inspire creation using tangible programming on an open hardware platform. Children will be able to produce control mechanisms for robots, toys and even tablets. Google has already prepared some sample kits such as sensor lab which offers programmable sensors, a music kit for mixing your own music and even a coding kit to physically program toys. You can also check out Kamigami, a fun robot that helps kids to learn programming.
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