NATALIE VILLALOBOS: Thanks for tuning
in to this special edition of "Google Developers Live."
Today we're featuring Limor Fried from Adafruit Industries
in celebration of Computer Science Education Week.
Hello, everyone.
My name is Natalie Villalobos, and I
will be your host for this special edition of "Google
Developers Live."
Today, our guest is Limor Fried.
Limor is a graduate of MIT, receiving her bachelor's
of science in electrical engineering and computer
science and a master's in engineering.
In 2005, she created her own company, Adafruit Industries,
which is based in New York.
And they sell hackable electronic kits.
In 2011, she was featured on the cover of "Wired" magazine,
the first female engineer-- ever, actually.
And in 2013, "Entrepreneur" magazine
named her Entrepreneur of the Year.
Thanks for joining us, Limor.
LIMOR FRIED: Thanks, Natalie.
I'm glad to be here.
Look at me, live engineer.
[INAUDIBLE]
NATALIE VILLALOBOS: Awesome.
So most people--
LIMOR FRIED: [INAUDIBLE] live.
NATALIE VILLALOBOS: Most people might not know you as Limor.
Some know you as ladyada.
Can you tell us a little bit more
about how you received that name?
LIMOR FRIED: Yeah.
So when I used to break into computers when
I was in high school, you had a hacker handle.
And my handle was ladyada.
And I never got caught, so that's kind of good.
And after I graduated from school, and I'm like,
well, you know, I should probably get a job
or start a company or something, I decided to keep my handle.
So I still go by ladyada.
And the good news is I've registered it
on all these websites for so long that ladyada's it.
I can't really change now.
NATALIE VILLALOBOS: Awesome.
So you've created the Adafruit Learning System,
and you've also started your own company.
So I want to hear about that, too.
Can you tell us a little bit more,
though, first about the Adafruit Learning System?
LIMOR FRIED: Sure.
One of the things that I do here at Adafruit
is I do a lot of engineering, a lot of developing.
But when people buy stuff from the Adafruit store,
they often tend to [? not be ?] electrical engineers.
They don't have a lot of experience with engineering.
They're just makers or hackers or people
who maybe do software, and they're
dabbling in doing some hardware.
And so they might need a little bit
of help getting started in how to use
these electronic parts in their projects.
And so what we did is we had this huge, vast amount
of documentation.
And we wanted to do a really good job
in having that documentation be easy to use, easy to find.
We wanted to integrate photos and videos
and side by side and photo notes and all the things that
make documentation for electronics
really, really good.
I mean, a lot of times for documentation for software,
it's just screenshots and text.
And that's OK, but with hardware, you really
want to show videos and wiring diagrams.
And so we developed our own web application
that runs on the Adafruit servers
called the Learning System.
And it's kind of like bootstrap.py.
And what it does is it allows us to do back
end design integration with our store
so that, for example, if a tutorial uses
a microscope or an Arduino or a Raspberry Pi,
those will get automatically tied together.
And so people can find the tutorials really easily.
They can just go through our shop
and say, well, I've got this component or this component.
What projects could I build with it?
And the Learning System will automatically
guide them through what cool project they can make.
NATALIE VILLALOBOS: That's super awesome and sounds really easy.
So you have some wearable technology projects as well.
And being at Google, we love some wearable technology
projects, like Google Glass.
Can you tell us a little bit about your favorite wearables
project and how we might get started with one?
LIMOR FRIED: Sure.
I really like wearables.
I've been doing wearables for a really long time.
I was at the wearables group in the Media Lab many, many,
many years ago.
And we were working on like strapping computers
to our bodies and stuff.
And that was kind of fun, although really big
and kind of clunky.
The cool thing is that 10 years later, microcontrollers
and electronics and batteries are so much better and smaller
that instead of having to spend like $2,000
to build your own strap-on computer,
you can actually do a lot of electronics for less than $50.
We have the Adafruit GEMMA, which
is our little microcontroller platform specifically
for low-cost wearables, and it's like $8.
So for $8 and a couple of LEDs, you
can actually start making integrated sensors, LEDs,
projects.
People like modifying their shoes and their bags
because shoes and bags have really stiff sides,
so it's really easy to attach electronics to them.
And also, we wear them every day.
And it's kind of cool to have funky shoes or a funky handbag.
So one of my favorite projects right now
is we have the Firewalker sneakers, which
is reactive shoes that light up when you walk or dance.
NATALIE VILLALOBOS: Awesome.
So it's not like they're spouting fire or anything
like that.
LIMOR FRIED: No, they just look like you
are because when you walk, the red LEDs flicker,
and they look like little flames,
like they're coming out of your feet.
So I wear them on Halloween, and they're totally awesome.
We're seeing lots of people build them
because they're dancers or artists or actors,
and they want to have something kind of cool and fun
on stage or during performances.
So that's really common.
NATALIE VILLALOBOS: That's awesome, yeah.
I like the idea of how every item that you own or wear
could potentially be a platform.
And so literally, your platform could be your platform, ha ha.
LIMOR FRIED: That's right.
Platform shoes have lots of space on them.
You can stuff tons of electronics in there
because you have to put the batteries.
NATALIE VILLALOBOS: Yeah, like some energy scavenging
to even maybe make some local power
supplies to actually make that work.
LIMOR FRIED: Yeah, sure.
NATALIE VILLALOBOS: So one other question
that I'm really interested in.
So a lot of times, we're carrying these devices,
and we're maybe not thinking how we can build on them
or how we can create them ourselves.
So there seems to be this disconnect between building
and consuming.
Can you tell us how we might get more connected with our devices
by building on them or your general thoughts
on that kind of era, this era of our lives?
LIMOR FRIED: Sure.
I think that, especially now, it's
hard to buy electronics that are hackable,
unless you're actually looking for that.
You used to be able to buy a Commodore 64 or an Apple
IIGS that came with schematics.
And it's like, you want to add a 40 column board?
Here's how you do it.
And there'd be parallel ports and COM ports.
And even that stuff doesn't appear on computers anymore.
There's really not a lot of easy ways
to integrate electronics into stuff like a tablet.
It's just a slab of glass, basically.
Which is why I think stuff like the Raspberry Pi
and Arduino is really great.
You can take the kind of technologies
that have become low cost because of tablets and cell
phones and laptops, but then build your own computer
or build your own cell phone, build your own camera.
And by doing that, you actually learn a lot,
and you get to customize it in ways
that maybe the companies that are selling
you a $500 digital camera or laptop or tablet
didn't think of.
So a lot of people take these technologies,
like Arduino and Raspberry Pi, and these sensors
and combine them together to make something custom or cool
or something that is their own, not just something
that they bought in a store.
NATALIE VILLALOBOS: Yeah, even better than what you could buy.
So different people have different interests-- cycling,
painting, rowing-- I don't know, a whole bunch
of different things.
So if I were a kid, and I had these interests,
how might coding or picking up an electronic hackable kit--
how can I implement those interests
into these particular types of practices or methodologies?
LIMOR FRIED: I think everyone's got hobbies
that are really fun and interesting.
One of the cool new hobbies that I'm
seeing that's picking up a lot of stuff with electronics
is cosplay and costuming.
So there's all these people who love to make costumes.
Costuming is the most fun thing.
Everyone loves Halloween.
Everyone loves to dress up.
And we've got all these cool LEDs and wearable electronics
that we can now add to our costumes
to make them light up or make sounds or effects
or make you move more like a robot.
So I'm seeing a lot of people add electronics
and making to whatever hobby they already have.
Like I know people who really like to cycle,
and so they make their own cycling
computers or their own light painting
rigs that attach to a bicycle.
People who like to rock climb will make their own timers
or digital cameras that they can attach to themselves
and take time lapses while they're doing stuff.
All of this stuff is taking off the shelf electronics,
combining it with coding and engineering
to make what you do more fun.
I know kids who skateboard, and then
they put LEDs on their skateboards,
so when they do tricks, they get these really cool light
effects.
This is stuff that you can't even buy.
You have to make it.
NATALIE VILLALOBOS: So there's a lot of different--
so when you think of a programmer,
or maybe not when you think of a programmer,
but when some people think of a programmer,
it's someone who's sitting behind a computer
and maybe is just typing and not really having a lot of fun.
Maybe they're like hunched back and-- I don't know.
It doesn't seem to be a very glamorous image.
If you were to fill in a "Mad Lib," a programmer is what?
LIMOR FRIED: For people who do electronics engineering,
a programmer is really creative.
I also used to do computer science,
and I used to sit behind a screen and type
and write code in Java, and I hated it.
It was so boring.
And I was just compiling and deploying
and linking libraries.
And I was like, this sucks.
I actually was bored of doing computer science
because it was just like, you're sitting in a room all day.
And so that's why I got into electrical engineering.
Electrical engineering, you take all the skills
that you may learn in computer science class,
but then you can build stuff with it.
You get to show it off to your friends.
You get to be really creative.
I mean, you can always make really cool apps and games
and stuff with software, but I really
think that-- I love just having physical stuff that moves,
like robotics or light painting, or making
your own computers or your own sensors or wearables.
All that stuff is a way to take programming and just
make it more fun.
NATALIE VILLALOBOS: Awesome.
So we have a huge developer audience that's watching.
What would you like to share with them?
Right now, we have Computer Science Education Week.
We're empowering everyone to learn
how to code through the Hour of Code campaign with code.org.
How might you activate, or how can developers get involved,
or where should they start first with their kids,
in getting them involved in electrical engineering
or computer science?
LIMOR FRIED: Sure.
I think that it's always great to start
with some basic tutorials and stuff.
But after you get a little bit of the hang of programming,
either with Basic or Scratch or JavaScript or whatever,
pick up something like an Arduino starter kit
or a Raspberry Pi and then try integrating all that stuff
that you learn in software with sensors.
Like try to make LEDs blink.
Or when you press a button, something
happens, or make some music.
A lot of people like to booby-trap their rooms.
That's a common project that we see a lot of kids do.
Because they have their own space,
and you want to modify it.
So they'll put PIR sensors that can detect people
and magnetic sensors that can detect movement,
and then they'll set up a camera to take photos
to make sure their parents aren't sneaking
into their rooms when they're in class.
So that's a really fun project that
uses code and sensors and electrical engineering
all together, and a lot of these projects
aren't even that difficult.
NATALIE VILLALOBOS: That sounds incredible.
I am really jealous of the kids these days.
LIMOR FRIED: How do you know that somebody at your home
isn't in your room right now, going through your stuff?
You don't.
That's why you have to build something like this.
NATALIE VILLALOBOS: Yeah.
I love it.
Yeah, I just started picking up some Nests, the Nest Protects.
And I love the way that it interacts with me
in my home environment.
And so I would love for our students
out there to be able to create these types of things
for their own home, like home automation.
Why don't you just go and do that?
So thank you so much for joining us.
We've learned so much today.
LIMOR FRIED: Awesome.
Thanks for having me, Natalie.
NATALIE VILLALOBOS: Yeah.
And I guess before we sign off, do you
want to tell us a little bit about where you are right now?
What's behind you?
LIMOR FRIED: Sure.
Right now, I'm at the Adafruit factory,
which is why it's kind of loud and crazy over here.
And we're in the middle of the busiest season, Christmas,
which is when a lot of parents get stuff for their kids,
a lot of sisters and brothers get
stuff for their siblings, et cetera,
and people get stuff for their parents or significant others.
So people are giving the gift of learning electronics
this season, and so we're really, really busy.
And that's why there's so much stuff going on here.
But it's also really exciting to have a factory
here in Manhattan.
NATALIE VILLALOBOS: Yeah, and you
make a lot of your own components
that go into your kits.
You make them in house, right?
LIMOR FRIED: Yeah.
A lot of these technologies, it's
not stuff that's necessarily available to people
who just want to play with sensors
or LEDs or other electronic components.
So what we do is we make breakout boards or design kits,
and we contact factories.
And we can purchase large quantities
and get custom-made stuff, like displays, made for us
and then provide them to customers.
So we kind of get to go to all the factories
that make cell phones and say, hey,
we're not making a cell phone, but give us all the stuff
that you can make your own cell phone.
And that's what we have in the Adafruit shop.
NATALIE VILLALOBOS: Beautiful.
Well, thank you so much for sharing
your factory and your time today.
I really appreciate it.
If you would like to learn more about Limor and Adafruit
Industries, go to Adafruit Industries-- or adafruit.com.
Right?
LIMOR FRIED: That's right.
Adafruit.com.
NATALIE VILLALOBOS: Cool.
Awesome.
Thank you so much, Limor.
LIMOR FRIED: OK, thanks.
NATALIE VILLALOBOS: Make sure to join
in on the fun at csedweek.org, where
you can participate in an Hour of Code
during Computer Science Education Week.