The Makeys

Makey Awards 2011 Nominee 05: Google Android, “Most Hackable Gadget”

Makey Awards 2011 Nominee 05: Google Android, “Most Hackable Gadget”

And it’s not just because the Android and Makeys mas-bots were apparently separated at birth.

And yes, we know Android is technically an operating system, and Android-compatible phones are really an entire class of gadgets. But in one sense, that’s the whole point. Gadget-lovers will debate the pros and cons of particular handsets endlessly, and there are significant other players in the smartphone market, but increasingly the most informative demographic among smartphone users these days is “Android or iPhone?”

Jeri’s Motion-Detecting LED Dress

I love how Jeri Ellsworth almost always shows up at events with an impressive hack, from her infamous NES Purse, to the “Brain Bulb” she wore at Maker Faire Bay Area, to this glorious geek sartorial, the Barbot LED Dress. She wore this to the BarBot 2011 event at this year’s RoboGames. Underneath the dress is a string of delay chain LEDs triggered by a PIR (Passive Infrared Sensor) motion sensor detecting people around her.