Bug Labs Creates Modular Rapid Prototyping System for Gadgets

By DE Editors

Bug Labs (San Francisco, CA) is a technology company based in New York City that allows engineers to use an open Linux and Java-based platform to build custom gadgets. BUG, as the system is called, has been likened to Lego toys because of the way the system’s easy-to-use electronic modules snap together. The company’s BUGbundle (see Figure 1) comprises a BUGbase ($299)—a programmable Linux computer with 128 MB of RAM, built-in Wi-Fi, USB ports and a small LCD with button controls—that connects to 4 snap-on BUGmodules, including a GPS ($79), digital camera/video camera ($69), color LCD touchscreen ($99), and a motion sensor ($49). The next wave of BUGmodules to be released in 2008 is expected to include a mini-keyboard, an audio speaker with input/output jacks, and a teleporter (!).

As Tech Crunch puts it, “the idea is that an engineer or entrepreneur can now create a digital device customized to their exact needs even if the market for that device is only 10 people, or only one. This could be great for making prototypes on the cheap—no need to tool up a factory or find one in China that wants a couple million dollars to do your first production run. Soon, designers will be able to just order a Bug Labs kit with the modules they need and write the software to tell the device what to do. This product is aimed squarely at engineers.”

Each BUGmodule represents a specific gadget function so users can decide which functions to include in a system and try out different combinations quickly and easily. Bug Labs eventually plans to release 80 modules, but with BUG and its integrated programming environment/web community, BUGnet, anyone can build, program, and share innovative devices and applications.

For details, go to Bug Labs.

Sources: Press materials received from the company and additional information gleaned from the company's website.