With the Kano Pixel Kit and a coding tutorial, we were able to hack this jack-o-lantern and give it some high tech spookiness.
The Kano Pixel Kit is a light board that you assemble yourself. It comes with a few games and a couple of pre-installed programs, but where the Pixel really shines is the depth and flexibility of its programming app. The Kano App uses block style JavaScript, similar to Scratch or Blockly, along with several predefined “parts” to add functionality and controls to the light board. The app makes it easy for a beginning coder to create a colorful light show, but is extensive enough that even an expert will have a lot of fun playing with it. Some of the “parts” that add functionality to the basic coding include being able to connect the Pixel to RSS feeds, an API that will give the weather for a location, and activating the Pixel’s on board microphone. Our pumpkin’s lights use the on board microphone and control the flickering of lights based on the level of sound in the space.
The Pixel will soon be available for our members to check out and play with.
