It's difficult to learn coding without access to a computer. We take it for granted in the west, but the affordability of a modern laptop makes it difficult in many places of the world. We recently had an opportunity to support REACT, a charity that was founded in the UK but supports young people in Ghana to access education.
15 years ago if someone had started speaking to me about a robot I would probably have had in my mind a resemblance of C-3PO. A shiny human shaped being that could act on his own carrying out similar tasks to a human. While humanoid beings are being produced, there is a simple reason that they aren’t at the centre of our day to day lives yet. They can be much more useful! For the meanwhile we are better at being human and robots are better suited to carrying out specific tasks.
Our FPV Rally Racing Course is shaping up to be an amazing experience. We don't like to blow our own trumpet, but we're pretty happy with what we've created so far. Think: a high-speed RC car, with a FPV camera installed in the driver seat, and a F1-style programmable steering wheel.
This is a brilliant example of failure, albeit one that perhaps should have been avoided. A Kickstarter campaign was run a few years ago for an umbrella that worked by blowing rain drops away with air. The concept behind this was brilliant. The physics - less so.
OK, so this isn't one for your average 9 year-old, but for a teen (or older) who is REALLY into electronics, this is one amazing book. What makes it more incredible is that it's been the Electronics Bible for several decades already. Tom (Tech Camp's MD) stumbled upon this as a teenager himself (definitely several decades ago), and it's been the go-to reference ever since.
OK, so unless you've got a really strange craving, most of us wouldn't eat Corn Flour (Cornstarch for our US friends). Nevertheless, this is one of the most cool things to play with, and you probably have it in your kitchen. It's a great thing to do with young kids, but if you're anything like our MD, you might well find it intriguing yourself.
If you're looking for a good gift for the tech-obsessed youngster in your life, the Makey Makey is a great option and one of our favourites. It's hard to explain all of the sort of things you can do with this fun device, but it essentially turns anything that is partially conductive into a key.
3D printing has surged in popularity over the last few years. With many machines finally reaching affordable levels, access to software and tools being better than ever, and general awareness for this awesome technology always increasing, it’s easy to see why 3D printing is hitting the news so often.
Fifteen years ago, if someone had started speaking about a robot, many people would probably have had in my mind a resemblance of C-3PO. A shiny human-shaped being that could act on his own carrying out similar tasks to a human.
London is a great place to be if you are interested in STEM. STEM (Science, technology, engineering and mathematics) is increasingly being used as a reference to anything technology based. If you have youngsters who are interested in getting into STEM, London is filled to the brim with activities, clubs and courses.
It's no wonder that coding is more fashionable today than ever before. The ability to program is undoubtedly one of the most important skills for the current generation of children to have leading into their adult lives. In 2015, 7 million job openings required the ability to code in the US (Burning Glass) and it is known that the best way to learn is to start early. A coding camp is a great way to introduce the next generation to the most important skill of the future. While popular culture can often make coding seem a daunting and tricky skill, that is far from the truth. Programming is a skill which everyone can learn.
Have you ever wanted to have a small model of your own head? With the amazing advancements in both 3D printing and 3D scanning technology, it is now easier than ever to achieve great quality 3D scans of small objects and print them yourself on any 3D printer.
If you were asked to describe a robot 10 years ago, you might have come up with something along the lines of a large silver box covered in lights and dials, with 2 arms, 2 legs and a human-like head – the reality of modern robots is of course quite different! Robotics and electronics in our daily lives are becoming more prevalent by the day, not just in labs and factories, but at home and in the office as well.
We’ve recently built up a prototype of our Invent! system (www.inventblocks.com) using the Raspberry Pi. Invent! is a system to rapidly build robots, learn coding in schools, and even prototype inventions by engineers. We’ve now got three versions of the system, each using different microcontrollers.
With technology now so central to our modern lives, it can be difficult to know how to keep ourselves safe online, let alone keeping our children (who seem to know more about it than we do) safe too! To help out with this, we have created a brand-new course for this year, Cyberspy Academy, designed to teach children all about digital security and staying safe online.