Mako

Mako enables simple exploration with coding and hobby electronics.

Mako was my Final year degree project. I wanted to lower the barrier for young people to try to work with electronics. Rather than spend time learning the intricacies of programming and electronics, they could jump right to seeing the possibilities of building things with motors and cardboard.

The final product was a series of coloured blocks, each featuring a different component. The blocks were used to connect cardboard constructions, each punching into cardboard to form a joint that could add up to make a car, a crane a robot or whatever they want. They can then program each of the bricks wirelessly to define simple behaviour.

While developing the product, I volunteered as a teaching assistant for over a year. I worked with teenagers during programming classes. I was able to test theories and early prototypes with them. This helped me constantly steer the project in the right direction.