Peter Semmelhack

Hands in the air, mainly software developers in this room.

We’ve been talking a lot about mashups. Mashups is generally software, information, mashing things up that already exist.

What if as a software engineer you could more control the platform that the data comes from?

Hardware Mashups

  • Can hardware match the progress we see in software, web services and APIs?
  • Sensors - location, image, environmental…
  • Network communications - sharing
  • Real real-time (instantly requesting information and getting results)

As a software developer I can look around for what hardware might support me but can find nothing. So might get Make and try to build something but it doesn’t scale. I believe that in 10 years the distinction between hardware and software will be much more blurred.

We’re building a modular platform. Can combine pieces and parts in a way that is completely modular, one module is a GPS. Want to show you how we’ve taken this further.

[Demo]

This is an SDK, I’ll use it as a way to show you how it works. There’s a picture of the base unit with the GPS plugged in. This is based on the “virtual bug”, our emulator. Can put two GPSes on, perhaps for comparison. Important thing is it’s up to you.

Title is “programmable”, that’s a very important point. This GPS is backed by a powerful full linux computer. I can build a tracking device by snapping a GPS and a modem onto the device.

One of the most important things about bug is that every module in the system is rendered as a web service. If we look at the GPS, there’s a URL that gives the location. Every module gives a URL. Showing GPS output as XML web service. As we add more modules we can mash up more data as it becomes available.

81 different modules available, all kinds of sensors, IO, etc. All of them follow the same metaphor.

“Software + Hardware mashups will release new wave of innovation”

Building a Programmable GPS with BUG

Technorati tags: hardware, gps, bug, buglabs, where, where2.0, where2008