bug labs' BUG: Exploring New Functionality

Bug Labs will be introducing an innovative new device next month called the BUG. It is essentially a collection of hardware modules that can be connected in various ways to form new devices. The modules, called BUGmodules, are all built with open source software and include components such as GPS, digital/video camera, color touch LCD screen, accelerometer/motion sensor, and many more.

The foundation of the device is called Bugbase, a programmable and "hackable" Linux computer with a fast CPU, 128MB RAM, Ethernet, USB, WiFi, and a small LCD (see the tech specs. The base has four connectors which link with the Bugmodules, so the user can come up with any combination he wants to experiment with, which is the really interesting part.

Device based services and applications become available depending on which modules are connecting. Java is higher up the stack and hosts a service oriented component runtime called OSGi. BUG applications are created with the BUG software development kit (known as Dragonfly) and can be shared on the online collaborative development environment called BUGnet, which will be launching soon. Bug Labs has also announced that the device will be compatible with the Android platform, which makes the device a practical way of developing and testing new software for Google's gPhone. There seems to be enormous potential in this project and we can't wait to see what kind of applications come out of it.

Bookmark/Search this post with:

 •    •    •    •    •    •    •