SAM Labs, a London-based startup, wants to educate everyone on the Internet of Things (IoT), by providing an easy-to-learn programming platform and tools to let people be creative.
Currently, IoT is a buzzword for most people outside of the tech industry, but Joachim Horn believes that people of all ages can learn how to program for IoT without coming from an engineering background.
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SAM Labs offers a variety of development kits that provide components like a button, an LED light, a motor, a slider, and a buzzer. From there, users can connect the components together to create a drawing machine, toy car, or several other tutorial devices, using a drag-and-click programming language.
Advanced users are able to build devices outside of the tutorials or even connect third-party components and implement JavaScript, if they find SAM Labs’ tutorials too easy.
SAM Labs trying to making coding accessible to all
The project is perfect for schools, which are trying to come up with ways to make coding accessible, but still powerful. Being able to show the capabilities of IoT, all the while allowing kids to explore their creative side, could be a real winner in the education market.
Outside of education, Horn sees removing the barriers to coding and IoT as a pivotal step, if we’re ever going to see a major surge in computer scientists and engineers in the workplace. It could also provide engineers with a new outlook on IoT and hardware development, according to Horn.
Accessibility has been a key factor in all tech revolutions over the past 50 years, so SAM Labs efforts in combination with more money being invested into edu-tech could make the next generation of learners as adept in coding as they are in English, maths, and science.
