Physical computing is becoming mainstream. More people than ever-from artists, makers and entrepreneurs to educators and students-are connecting microcontrollers with sensors and actuators to create new interactive devices. However, physical computing still presents many challenges and demands many skills, spanning electronics, low-level protocols, and software-road blocks that reduce participation. While USB has made connecting peripherals to a personal computing device (PC) trivial, USB components are expensive and require a PC to operate. This makes USB impractical for many physical computing scenarios where cost, size and low power operation are often important.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Physical computing is becoming mainstream. More people than ever-from artists, makers and entrepreneurs to educators and students-are connecting microcontrollers with sensors and actuators to create new interactive devices. However, physical computing still presents many challenges and demands many skills, spanning electronics, low-level protocols, and software-road blocks that reduce participation. 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