Scientists and Engineers have created a lot of interesting stuff over time and Makey Makey is one such example. A dream project of two MIT researchers – Jay Silver and Eric Rosenbaum, Makey Makey is one of the coolest inventions I have ever seen. It might not be able to do something really useful as of now (fun is rarely counted as “useful”), but it has a bright future because it is an invention kit for anyone who is “creative, inventive, and imaginative.”
With Makey Makey, you’d be able to use any web application with anything that can conduct even the slightest of electric current. Once the device is connect with your computer via USB and the bananas via alligator clips, you can play web-based Piano by tapping the bananas, and that’s not all. You can play Pacman, and even update your Facebook/Twitter using custom-made alphabet soup keyboard.
Following diagram explains how Makey Makey works, when you touch the object connect to the Makey Makey device, it forms a circuit which is sends electric signals which is then received by your computer and it processes it like a regular keyboard/mouse signal, doesn’t it sound really innovative, yet extremely simple?
Let me tell you once again that it’s a tool kit for inventors. People can make thousands of cool web apps that use Makey Makey, the possibilities are seriously beyond our Imagination.
Guys behind Makey Makey have teamed up with SparkFun to “manufacture safe, environmentally responsible (RoHS compliant) circuit boards.” Right now, these Makey Makey is not available in the market and this idea won’t be realized without initial funding which Jay and Eric believe to touch about $25,000. To generate initial funds, they have put this project on Kickstarter and need you to support them.
To learn more about the Makey Makey project, you can visit their page on Kickstarter, and if you’re interested in supporting the project, you can back it up starting from $1. If you back the project with $35 or more, you’ll get Makey Makey(s) when it released, sometimes in August.
Watch the Makey Makey video below.
Update (15/5/2012 1:35 AM IST) – Makey Makey already got $10,000 of $25,000 at Kickstarter.
[source Kickstarter]
