Ayah Bdeir: Building blocks that blink, beep and teach

Translator: Sin Chi Tang Reviewer: Queenie Lee

你哋可能會覺得好奇怪

但我實在太鍾意水泥磚喇

This may sound strange,

世界上第一嚿水泥磚喺 1868 年製造

but I'm a big fan of the concrete block.

The first concrete blocks were manufactured in 1868

當時生產水泥磚得一個要求：

就係要有固定嘅尺寸

with a very simple idea:

modules made of cement of a fixed measurement

因為咁樣先能夠磚搭磚

好快咁，水泥磚變成咗

that fit together.

世界上最常用嘅建築材料

Very quickly concrete blocks became

the most-used construction unit in the world.

我哋可以用佢嚟起建築物，例如屋、橋

They enabled us to to build things that were larger than us,

一磚一磚咁建造

buildings, bridges,

水泥磚已經成為現今嘅建材

one brick at a time.

Essentially concrete blocks had become

the building block of our time.

大約一百年之後，喺 1947 年

樂高生產出呢個

Almost a hundred years later in 1947,

LEGO came up with this.

佢哋稱為「自動組裝積木」嘅嘢

It was called the Automatic Binding Brick.

短短幾年後

樂高積木成為咗每個家庭必備嘅玩具

And in a few short years,

LEGO bricks took place in every household.

據估計，樂高生產咗超過四千億嚿積木

It's estimated that over 400 billion bricks have been produced --

平均全球每個人有 75 嚿積木

or 75 bricks for every person on the planet.

你唔需要係工程師

都可以起到靚屋、靚橋 或者其它好靚嘅建築

You don't have to be an engineer

to make beautiful houses, beautiful bridges, beautiful buildings.

樂高令你嘅想像變成實物

樂高運用水泥磚嘅概念

LEGO made it accessible.

LEGO has essentially taken the concrete block, the building block of the world,

將佢轉化成發揮我哋想像力嘅積木

and made it into the building block

喺同一年

of our imagination.

貝爾實驗室準備發表 一個電路組件嘅革新︰電晶體

Meanwhile the exact same year,

at Bell Labs the next revolution was about to be announced,

電晶體係一樣塑膠製嘅電子元件

the next building block.

佢會帶領我哋進入一個

The transistor was a small plastic unit

積木靜止堆埋一齊 但係積木之間會產生作用嘅世界

that would take us from a world

of static bricks piled on top of each other

to a world where everything was interactive.

雖然電晶體同水泥磚一樣

畀到你整更大、更複雜嘅電路

Like the concrete block,

the transistor allows you to build

much larger, more complex circuits, one brick at a time.

但佢哋最大嘅差別係 電晶體係專門畀專家玩嘅

But there's a main difference:

The transistor was only for experts.

但我唔係好同意呢個講法

I personally don't accept this,

that the building block of our time

所以我想推翻呢個講法

is reserved for experts,

so I decided to change that.

八年前我喺媒體實驗室 著手開發呢個計畫

Eight years ago when I was at the Media Lab,

就係點樣將工程師嘅技術 畀到藝術家同設計師用到？

I started exploring this idea

of how to put the power of engineers

幾年前我開始研發 littleBits

in the hands of artists and designers.

A few years ago I started developing littleBits.

我畀你哋睇下佢點運作

Let me show you how they work.

littleBits 係電子元件

LittleBits are electronic modules

每一小嚿都有特定嘅功能

with each one specific function.

佢哋設計成會發光、發聲 有電動功能同感應功能

They're pre-engineered

to be light, sound,

而佢最好玩嘅部分就係

motors and sensors.

And the best part about it

佢哋靠磁鐵連接埋一齊

is they snap together with magnets.

所以你唔會搞錯佢哋嘅方向

So you can't put them the wrong way.

佢哋用顏色嚟區分

The bricks are color-coded.

綠色係輸出，藍色係電源

Green is output, blue is power,

粉紅色係輸入，橙色係電線

只要將藍色同綠色連埋一齊

pink is input and orange is wire.

So all you need to do is snap a blue to a green

你就可以開始做啲大啲嘅電路

and very quickly you can start making larger circuits.

藍色同綠色接埋一齊，佢就會發光

You put a blue to a green,

當你將旋鈕駁喺中間，你就可以較光暗

you can make light.

You can put a knob in between

and now you've made a little dimmer.

攞走旋鈕，換做脈衝元件

Switch out the knob

for a pulse module,

咁樣，你就可以整到閃光

which is here,

and now you've made a little blinker.

再加上一個聲音元件

Add this buzzer

咁你就整咗一個警報器

for some extra punch

and you've created a noise machine.

不過佢好嘈呀

雖然呢啲示範睇落簡單

I'm going to stop that.

So beyond simple play,

但 littleBits 其實好強大

要編寫 littleBits

littleBits are actually pretty powerful.

我哋唔需要識寫程式 接電線或者焊接

Instead of having to program, to wire, to solder,

只要做好簡單嘅直覺動作就得嘞

littleBits allow you to program

要令佢閃得快啲或慢啲

using very simple intuitive gestures.

你只需要轉下呢個掣就可以

So to make this blink faster or slower,

you would just turn this knob

and basically make it pulse faster or slower.

littleBits 個構思係 佢係一個愈做愈大嘅知識庫

The idea behind littleBits

我哋都想呢一嚿現成嘅積木 做到各式各樣嘅功能︰

is that it's a growing library.

We want to make every single interaction in the world

光、聲音、太陽能板、摩打等等

into a ready-to-use brick.

Lights, sounds, solar panels, motors --

我哋畀過小朋友玩 littleBits

everything should be accessible.

We've been giving littleBits to kids and seeing them play with them.

呢個對小朋友嚟講真係好難得嘅體驗

好處係佢哋開始了解 每日圍繞佢哋

And it's been an incredible experience.

The nicest thing is how they start to understand

而學校又唔會教嘅嘅電子設備

the electronics around them from everyday

譬如一盞夜燈係點樣運作

that they don't learn at schools.

或者電梯門點樣維持開住嘅狀態

For example, how a nightlight works,

又或者 iPod 嘅螢幕點樣對觸控有反應

or why an elevator door stays open,

or how an iPod responds to touch.

我哋都會將 littleBits 拎畀設計學校使用

We've also been taking littleBits to design schools.

我哋仲令到一啲 完全無電子相關經驗嘅設計師

So for example, we've had designers

開始將 littleBits 當成一種材料

with no experience with electronics whatsoever

start to play with littleBits as a material.

你睇，絨布同紙做嘅水瓶

Here you see, with felt and paper water bottles,

喬迪整咗呢樣嘢⋯

（鈴聲）

we have Geordie making ...

（叭 ~ 叭叭）

(Clanging)

幾個禮拜前我哋將 littleBits 帶到 羅德島設計學院

(Buzzing)

A few weeks ago we took littleBits to RISD

介紹畀一啲同樣 無工程學相關經驗嘅設計師玩

and gave them to some designers

我哋畀啲硬紙板、木板同紙佢哋 等佢哋做啲嘢

with no experience in engineering whatsoever --

just cardboard, wood and paper -- and told them "Make something."

畀一樣佢哋整嘅嘢你哋睇

Here's an example of a project they made,

「天女散花加農砲」

a motion-activated confetti canon ball.

（笑聲）

但呢個真係我最鍾意嘅一個

(Laughter)

But wait, this is actually my favorite project.

佢係用泥膠做嘅龍蝦

It's a lobster made of playdough

佢好怕黑

that's afraid of the dark.

（笑聲）

(Laughter)

對唔係工程師嘅人嚟講 littleBits 成為咗另一種材料

To these non-engineers, littleBits became another material,

電子零件變咗一種材料

我哋希望呢種材料人人都用得到

electronics became just another material.

And we want to make this material accessible to everyone.

littleBits 係個共享資源

你可以去我哋嘅網站下載設計稿 自己郁手做

So littleBits is open-source.

You can go on the website, download all the design files, make them yourself.

我哋想啟發創作者、發明家同貢獻者

We want to encourage a world

of creators, of inventors, of contributors,

因為我哋住嘅呢個互動嘅世界 係屬於我哋嘅

because this world that we live in,

所以，我哋一齊開始發明喇！

this interactive world, is ours.

多謝

So go ahead and start inventing.

（掌聲）

Thank you.

(Applause)