Plug-and-play Physical Computing with Jacdac

James Devine, Michal Moskal, Peli de Halleux, Thomas Ball, Steve Hodges, Gabriele D'Amone, David Gakure, Joe Finney, Lorraine Underwood, Kobi Hartley, Paul Kos, Matt Oppenheim

Abstract: 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.