LittleBits Electronics wants to build your custom synth module for their modular building system.
LittleBits already makes the Korg Synth Kit, a modular building kit that lets you snap together a basic modular synth, and a wide variety of other modules.
Now, they’ve announced The BitLab – a marketplace for user-generated hardware. You design a module, people vote for the most interesting modules, and the most interesting modules will get built.
Here’s how it works:
- Submit a module idea – Upload your ideas. Include a working prototype, schematics, videos and pictures.
- Gather votes – You’ll need 1,000 votes to move to the next stage.
- LittleBits will review your idea – littleBits will review your submission and determine production feasibility.
- littleBits sells, you get paid – if the new module is feasible, littleBits will manufacture it, credit you and pay you a portion of the sales.
A Hardware Development Kit is also available. In the video below, littleBits founder and CEO Ayah Bdeir discusses the new Development Kit and the BitLab:
See the littleBits bitLab for details.
A real 8 or 16-step sequencer, with step skip, would be amazing!
It´s getting more and more interesting those Little Bits 🙂
i don’t get it! is there some strange fetishist going around doing nothing but giving thumbs down to everything? how does one do that to these top two comments?
#1 concern: They’re encouraging designers to open source their work and promoting the open source movement while using proprietary connectors on all of their modules that force consumers to buy their stuff.
Companies or individuals that want to make and sell compatible modules are locked out of the market.
I don’t think proprietary connectors are a huge issue for anyone intelligent enough to use a few crocodile clips.
An independent maker can’t manufacture a run of 100 boards that need to be connected to “official” littleBits using alligator clips. 🙂
This is the same thing that Google, Microsoft, Apple and most other tech companies do. It means that they can build a proprietary implementation of the design, but anybody else can build any version of the design that they like.
This is only a limitation if you’re not interested in using littleBits, in which case why would you submit a design to them?
FWIW – they also make a ‘proto’ module that’s basically designed to let you connect a littleBits system to anything.
I don’t know about you, but my bits are tingling.
still no EU distributors…or they´ve changed their distro policies?
I bought some bits last year and I desisted because the high custom taxes-fees (they arrived from china). I´d love to order more 🙁
From their terms an conditions: “If you do not, or are unable to, provide the design and engineering resources and assistance required by littleBits to complete the Development and Manufacturing Review, there will be no hard feelings. But we may still develop the littleBits module conceived in Your Submission, and we will not be obligated to pay you a royalty.”