The evolution of the maker landscape
Summary
A lot of people start off small with fun projects like, say, creating a machine that cools a beer after they send a text that they are driving home from work. Micro:bit is a system on the opposite end of the spectrum that’s making it easier for young people interested in STEM to program by using code in a block format and then with one click, switch it over to Java. What is even better is companies like Pimoroni, Kitronik, Seeed, SparkFun and Adafruit have really expanded the Micro:bit ecosystem and have developed tons of add-on solutions to help nurture the next generation of makers and engineers. Adafruit has even created the CLUE platform, which is footprint compatible with Micro:bit but adds additional functionality like a colour TFT display and a ton of sensors including motion, light, temp, humidity and sound. For instance, during the pandemic when we couldn’t get our hands on a portable sanitizing machine, our engineers created a UV tunnel themselves to disinfect the thousands of totes that carry product through our distribution centre.