More than 30 years ago, the BBC introduced the BBC Micro computer, built with the help of Acorn Computers, as part of an effort to increase computer literacy in the UK. Now, it's undertaking a similarly ambitious effort to help teach kids to program and design their own mobile devices.
At the center of that effort is the appropriately-named Micro Bit, a pocket-sized computer that the BBC first unveiled back in March and for which it has now revealed the final design. As the BBC itself reports, the design now includes a motion sensor and a pair of buttons that weren't part of the original design, but it no longer uses a watch battery that had been intended to make the device better suited for wearable applications. Instead, it will use a separate power pack with two AA batteries, a change that's reportedly due to concerns about the battery being too small for use around young children.
As previously announced, the device will include 25 programmable LEDs and an array of input and output options that promise a nearly endless range of potential applications -- the BBC cites a metal detector, a spirit level, and a video game controller as just a few of the possibilities. What's more, while about a million children in the UK will be able to get the Micro Bit for free this October, it will also be on sale for anyone else interested in toying around with one. And, naturally, the plans for the computer itself will be open source.
