Design fusion!

You all know how much I love to cross program projects using multiple platforms; and playing around, inspired by my tinkersmith friends, I found out that MIT AppInventor lets you import programming from Arduino to build an app to use your phone to communicate with a micro-processor via bluetooth to operate an external circuit. This means, you design a "start-stop" app interface using AppInventor, program it using the bluetooth "connectivity" blocks and then use Arduino code editor to program the micro-processor, importing it to communicate through AppInventor to read and execute your project's code! Take a look here at an AppInventor project example. Researching further, it seems AppInventor is a bit tricky regarding micro-processor compatibility, but I hope to work with the tinkersmith group to build a project this fall to figure it out! I'm thinking of building a simple "smart home" type app, where I can use my phone to remotely activate a small appliance, for example.

Also, the tinkersmith group is working to build 3D printed "breadboards", which are small boards you use to develop and test your circuit projects before you commit to designing a final shell for your project. Check it out here for a better explanation of what breadboards are. And take a look here at some projects from Thingiverse.