Semiconductor supplier Marvell has launched an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign for the mass distribution of its hardware platform Kinoma Create.
“Crowdfunding is behind so much of the innovation in hardware development, consumer electronics advances, and product prototyping. A natural next step in bringing Kinoma Create to market was coming to Indiegogo,” said the campaign’s website.
(Related: How to program wearables for the Internet of Things)
Kinoma Create is a JavaScript-powered Internet of Things construction kit designed to help software developers become “makers” who are able to easily design prototype products faster, according to the company. The platform allows users to create personal projects, consumer electronics and Internet of Things prototypes with no prior hardware experience.
“We wanted to make this accessible to people who are Web developers because they have amazing ideas, they make things that are beautiful and are all about getting things connected, which is what we think the next wave of consumer electronics is all about,” said Peter Hoddie, vice president of Marvell’s Kinoma group.
The Kinoma Create is JavaScript-powered because Hoddie believed it is the most used programming language and is forgiving for beginners. The platform is designed to provide hardware and software elements so that developers can focus on creating things. The Kinoma Create comes already integrated with an ARM CPU, WiFi, Bluetooth connectivity, a color touch-screen, input/output sensors, speakers, a microphone, and its own integrated development environment, Kinoma Studio.
“Web developers, makers and product prototypers can experiment with ideas without having to go through pain of having to learn new programming languages and install lots of tools,” said Hoddie.
Early adopters of Kinoma Create have made things like an aquarium controller that keeps track of temperature, power consumption and other aquarium-related things; an interactive game that tests strength, intelligence and social media skills; and a home-monitoring system that turns off things at night.
Kinoma Create was launched by an Indiegogo campaign on March 7, and with only three days in, the company has already met its US$10,000 goal.
“We really weren’t sure what to expect,” said Hoddie. “There are so many incredibly cool campaigns there, we are completely thrilled we were able to get such strong results.”
More information on Kinoma Create is available here.
