“Codebug is a gentle introduction, an entry point, to physical computing.”

LXF: Codebug is primarily aimed at children; what resources are there to help them get to grips with Codebug? AR: Integrated into the Codebug website is a whole range of step-by-step tutorials and sample projects and these are all based around physical activities, not dry exercises in logic. LXF: Projects like Codebug and Raspberry Pi are bringing Maker culture into the mainstream – is that a good thing? AR: Absolutely, one of the purposes of Codebug was to democratise the Internet of Things (IoT), in a similar way to how Wordpress has enabled anyone to build a website. Ten years ago it was the real hackers who could build their own website, now anyone can build a site with extended functionality. With the IoT and hardware hacking culture we need to get into a similar position where anybody can build an automatic pet feeder rather than contracting someone to make it on their behalf. Maker culture is all about people empowering themselves to solve their own needs and fixing their own problems.

I am really pleased with OggCamp. Right now I am really busy with Codebug so taking a ‘weekend off’ to visit an event is a big commitment of time. But what I found at OggCamp was that everyone had a level of care and respect for each other’s projects and ideas. The community is interested in each others work and made time to listen and that was evident during the weekend. Everyone was sharing ideas and wanting to be involved in them. The whole event has a welcoming feel. LXF: Community is an important aspect to an event: does OggCamp have a similar community to that of Maker Faire? AR: OggCamp stands out as a more accessible community; everyone was keen to share and wanted to work with you. The mix of stalls on offer neither detracts from the event nor from each other. Offering a great balance. LXF: Did you get chance to network? AR: Indeed, we had time to talk to Warwick University who are running classes with primary schools, where children can build fun projects, they are interested in using Codebug as their platform.