Lego bricks have been the foundation of so many awesome and elaborate creations, it's no wonder people have already had the idea to send them skyward in drone form. But while there are plenty of DIY tutorials around, as well as the odd prebuilt model, we haven't seen anything quite as accessible and affordable as these new Lego UAV kits from Flybrix.

Lego bricks have been the foundation of so many awesome and elaborate creations, it's no wonder people have already had the idea to send them skyward in drone form. But while there are plenty of DIY tutorials around, as well as the odd prebuilt model, we haven't seen anything quite as accessible and affordable as these new Lego UAV kits from Flybrix.

Source: Flybrix

Getting your STEM skills up to speed is now easier than ever with Microduino's mCookie. These Arduino-compatible electronics kits make building mini machines a snap -- literally -- with magnetic connectors and interlocking pins that match up with LEGO blocks. The mCookie family of DIY modules, sensors and accessories was Kickstarted back in 2015 and began shipping to consumers at the end of the year. Now anyone can pick up one of the various kits (Basic, Advanced or Expert) and assemble projects like a music box, voice-activated camera, paw-waving fortune cat and more. Microduino also offers additional components to expand the possibilities to keep pace with your imagination. This week, one lucky reader will win a Family Kit (including all three mCookie sets) to launch their smart-machine-making career. Just head down to the Rafflecopter widget below for up to three chances at winning.

Winner: Congratulations to Robin B. of Chico, CA!

Getting your STEM skills up to speed is now easier than ever with Microduino's mCookie. These Arduino-compatible electronics kits make building mini machines a snap -- literally -- with magnetic connectors and interlocking pins that match up with LEGO blocks. The mCookie family of DIY modules, sensors and accessories was Kickstarted back in 2015 and began shipping to consumers at the end of the year. Now anyone can pick up one of the various kits (Basic, Advanced or Expert) and assemble projects like a music box, voice-activated camera, paw-waving fortune cat and more. Microduino also offers additional components to expand the possibilities to keep pace with your imagination. This week, one lucky reader will win a Family Kit (including all three mCookie sets) to launch their smart-machine-making career. Just head down to the Rafflecopter widget below for up to three chances at winning.

Winner: Congratulations to Robin B. of Chico, CA!

Humble Bundle unveiled its latest book pack on Wednesday and, hoo boy, is it a doozy. The pay-what-you-want charity is teaming up with Make for a huge book pack that teaches the basics of Arduino and Pi programming. Pay anything you want for six Maker handbooks geared towards amateur roboticists. Throw down more than the current $10 average and Humble Bundle will double that figure to include a full dozen titles as well as a $5 - $10 discount off a year of Maker Magazine. You can also round out the deal for $15 total and receive two more titles -- Make: Sensors and Making Things Talk. Proceeds from these sales will benefit Maker Ed.

[Image Credit: Getty]

Humble Bundle unveiled its latest book pack on Wednesday and, hoo boy, is it a doozy. The pay-what-you-want charity is teaming up with Make for a huge book pack that teaches the basics of Arduino and Pi programming. Pay anything you want for six Maker handbooks geared towards amateur roboticists. Throw down more than the current $10 average and Humble Bundle will double that figure to include a full dozen titles as well as a $5 - $10 discount off a year of Maker Magazine. You can also round out the deal for $15 total and receive two more titles -- Make: Sensors and Making Things Talk. Proceeds from these sales will benefit Maker Ed.

[Image Credit: Getty]

Source: Humble Bundle

Humble Bundle unveiled its latest book pack on Wednesday and, hoo boy, is it a doozy. The pay-what-you-want charity is teaming up with Make for a huge book pack that teaches the basics of Arduino and Pi programming. Pay anything you want for six Maker handbooks geared towards amateur roboticists. Throw down more than the current $10 average and Humble Bundle will double that figure to include a full dozen titles as well as a $5 - $10 discount off a year of Maker Magazine. You can also round out the deal for $15 total and receive two more titles -- Make: Sensors and Making Things Talk. Proceeds from these sales will benefit Maker Ed.

[Image Credit: Getty]

Source: Humble Bundle

Makers hacked real problems faced by people with special needs to create tools that will help improve mobility, independence, and comfort.

Read more on MAKE

The post 5 Life-Changing Accessibility Inventions Made in 72 Hours appeared first on Make: DIY Projects, How-Tos, Electronics, Crafts and Ideas for Makers.

A few months ago we introduced Genuino, Arduino’s sister brand for products sold outside the US. TODO, the design agency that developed the Arduino branding language since its early beginnings, created the new Genuino look & feel and signature elements. This new branding language is going to be applied to all Genuino and Arduino products in the near future.

Giorgio Olivero, one of TODO co-founder, studied at the Interaction Design Institute Ivrea, where Arduino was conceived. Giorgio and later on his team (among others Vanessa Poli and Alessandro Argenio) have been taking care of Arduino’s brand identity since then. We have asked Giorgio to tell us the reasons behind the original Arduino branding language, and the Arduino/Genuino design language refresh. Here is the story in his own words:

‘When we began developing Arduino’s identity in late 2009 we wanted the project to feature an accessible, pop, and clear communication language for the new community that was growing around DIY electronics. Something that wouldn’t compare to the technical-macho look of the engineer-oriented platforms and products: a testosterone-free positioning that could speak to everyone and not only to experts and hard-core enthusiasts.

Arduino’s original visual language had to stand out and define a yet uncharted market, its goal was to ‘declare, define, simplify’ without scaring people away with overly technical details. Arduino’s identity had to be true to its community values, not too polished but still elegant and accessible. It was basic, technical and playful. The message was: Arduino is a modular system open to anybody and in constant evolution.

As the electronics market keeps evolving at an incredible rate, it’s about time to refresh both the Arduino and the Genuino brand with an updated system. The new design keeps a strong continuity with the previous one, we see it as an evolution rather than a revolution. We want people to recognize that the core values and the ‘personality’ haven’t changed. The new recipe is spicier and less technical though, it has a sort of circus-like feeling: it’s about the joyful interplay of the Arduino ecosystem and community. You could see these colourful squares as different components, circuits, and modules of an electronics system. Or rather as the interlocking building blocks of the maker movement itself, that recipe of openness that makes Arduino so unique.

The new visual language evokes empathy, joy, and playfulness. Collaboration is its core value. It introduces a series of characters based on the electronics components with a playful personality, that will enable new outlets for the visual identity.

We have always enjoyed working with Arduino, our ongoing collaborations (and long friendship) surely requires very fast design iterations, because the Arduino ecosystem keeps evolving, but hopefully we are making the brand stronger and very well equipped for the new challenges ahead.’

Learn more about Todo on Twitter and Facebook.