Name: Building blocks that blink, beep and teach
Uploaded: 2012-03-29T15:00:05Z
Duration: 5 min 10 s
Description: Imagine a set of electronics as easy to play with as Legos. TED Fellow Ayah Bdeir introduces littleBits, a set of simple, interchangeable blocks that make programming as simple and important a part of creativity as snapping blocks together.

Ayah Bdeir: Building blocks that blink, beep and teach

Building blocks that blink, beep and teach

Imagine a set of electronics as easy to play with as Legos. TED Fellow Ayah Bdeir introduces littleBits, a set of simple, interchangeable blocks that make programming as simple and important a part of creativity as snapping blocks together.

Electronics no longer have to be the exclusive domain of experts. Just as LEGO made building accessible to all, modular kits like littleBits let anyone snap together circuits as easily as toy bricks. Children and designers with no technical background have created everything from blinking lights to motion-triggered confetti cannons. With over 400 billion LEGO bricks produced globally, this new approach aims to make electronics just as universal—and just as playful.