ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Ayah Bdeir - Engineer and artist
Ayah Bdeir is an engineer and artist, and is the founder of littleBits and karaj, an experimental art, architecture and technology lab in Beirut.

Why you should listen
Ayah Bdeir is the creator of littleBits, an open source system of preassembled, modular circuits that snap together with magnets – making learning about electronics fun, easy and creative. An engineer, inventor and interactive artist, Ayah received her master’s degree from the MIT Media Lab and undergraduate degrees in computer engineering and sociology from the American University of Beirut. Ayah has taught graduate classes at NYU and Parsons and taught numerous workshops to get non-engineers – particularly young girls – interested in science and technology. She is also the founder of karaj, Beirut’s lab for experimental art, architecture and technology. littleBits was named Best of Toyfair, has won the editor’s Choice award from MAKE magazine, and has been acquired by MoMA for its collection.
More profile about the speaker
Ayah Bdeir | Speaker | TED.com
TED2012

Ayah Bdeir: Building blocks that blink, beep and teach

艾雅.貝蒂爾: 嚟玩會閃、會響、又有教育意義嘅積木喇!

Filmed:
1,272,560 views

想像一下電子元件就同 Lego 積木一樣咁易玩。TED 研究生 ——艾雅.貝蒂爾,向我哋介紹 littleBits,呢個係個簡單、可替換嘅積木組合,佢可以藉由積木之間嘅接合,令我哋可以用簡單又有創意嘅方式設計程式。
- Engineer and artist
Ayah Bdeir is an engineer and artist, and is the founder of littleBits and karaj, an experimental art, architecture and technology lab in Beirut. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:15
This may可能 sound聲音 strange奇怪,
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你哋可能會覺得好奇怪
00:17
but I'm a big fan風扇 of the concrete混凝土 block.
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因為我好鍾意水泥磚
00:19
The first concrete混凝土 blocks were manufactured製造 in 1868
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世界上第一嚿水泥磚喺 1868 年製造
00:22
with a very simple簡單 idea想法:
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只得一個好簡單嘅概念:
00:24
modules糢塊 made作出 of cement水泥 of a fixed固定 measurement測量
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水泥造嘅磚頭有固定嘅尺寸
00:27
that fit together一起.
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咁樣先能夠互相契合
00:29
Very quickly迅速 concrete混凝土 blocks became成為
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很快咁,水泥磚頭就變成咗
00:31
the most-used最常用 construction建設 unit單位 in the world世界.
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世界上最常用嘅建築材料
00:34
They enabled啟用 us to to build建立 things that were larger than us,
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我哋可以用佢嚟建造
比我哋仲要巨大嘅建築
00:36
buildings建築, bridges橋樑,
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例如屋、橋
00:38
one brick at a time.
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一磚一瓦咁建造
00:40
Essentially基本上 concrete混凝土 blocks had become成為
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我哋將水泥磚頭用作建材
00:42
the building建築 block of our time.
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已經有一段時間喇
00:45
Almost爭 D a hundred years later之後 in 1947,
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大約一百年之後,喺 1947 年
00:47
LEGO came up with this.
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樂高 LEGO® 生產出呢個
00:49
It was called the Automatic自動 Binding绑定 Brick.
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佢哋稱為自動組裝積木
00:52
And in a few幾個 short years,
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短短幾年後
00:54
LEGO bricks took place地方 in every household家庭.
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樂高積木成為咗每個家庭必備嘅玩具
00:57
It's estimated估計 that over 400 billion bricks have been produced產生 --
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大約估計咗一下,樂高生產
咗超過四千億嚿積木
01:00
or 75 bricks for every person on the planet星球.
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平均全球每個人有 75 嚿積木
01:03
You don't have to be an engineer工程師
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你唔需要係工程師
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to make beautiful houses房子, beautiful bridges橋樑, beautiful buildings建築.
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都可以起到靚屋、高橋
或者其它好靚嘅建築
01:08
LEGO made作出 it accessible訪問.
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樂高令你嘅想像變成實物
01:10
LEGO has essentially基本上 taken採取 the concrete混凝土 block, the building建築 block of the world世界,
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樂高運用水泥磚嘅概念
將佢轉化成
01:13
and made作出 it into the building建築 block
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激發我哋想像力嘅建材
01:15
of our imagination想象.
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01:17
Meanwhile同時 the exact確切 same相同 year,
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喺同一年
01:19
at Bell Labs實驗室 the next revolution革命 was about to be announced宣布,
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貝爾實驗室發表咗另一個
01:22
the next building建築 block.
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積木嘅革新
01:24
The transistor晶躰琯 was a small plastic unit單位
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電晶體喺一樣塑膠製嘅小東西
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that would take us from a world世界
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帶領我哋進入一個
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of static靜態 bricks piled on top返回頁首 of each每個 other
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積木靜止堆埋一齊
01:30
to a world世界 where everything was interactive互動.
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但係積木間會相互作用嘅世界
01:32
Like the concrete混凝土 block,
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同水泥磚頭一樣
01:34
the transistor晶躰琯 allows允許 you to build建立
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電晶體都比到你建造
01:36
much larger, more complex複雜 circuits電路, one brick at a time.
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更大、更複雜嘅迴路
01:39
But there's a main主要 difference差異:
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佢哋最大嘅差別就係
01:41
The transistor晶躰琯 was only for experts專家.
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電晶體係專門比專家玩嘅
01:43
I personally don't accept接受 this,
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我唔係好同意呢個講法
01:45
that the building建築 block of our time
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雖然我哋而家嘅磚頭建材
01:47
is reserved保留 for experts專家,
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都只有專家係度用
01:49
so I decided決定 to change that.
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但係我想改變呢種現象
01:52
Eight years ago when I was at the Media媒體 Lab實驗室,
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八年前我喺媒體實驗室
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I started初時 exploring探索 this idea想法
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開始著手開發呢個計畫:
01:56
of how to put the power權力 of engineers工程師
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點樣將工程師嘅技術
01:58
in the hands of artists藝術家 and designers設計師.
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比藝術家同設計師都可以輕易掌握?
02:00
A few幾個 years ago I started初時 developing發展 littleBitslittleBits.
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幾年前我開始研發 littleBits
02:03
Let me show顯示 you how they work.
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我比你哋睇下佢點運作
02:07
LittleBitsLittleBits are electronic電子 modules糢塊
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littleBits 係電子元件
02:10
with each每個 one specific特定 function功能.
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每一小嚿都有特定嘅功能
02:13
They're pre-engineered預設計
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佢哋被設置成
02:15
to be light, sound聲音,
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有燈光、聲音
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motors電機 and sensors傳感器.
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電動同感應功能
02:20
And the best最好 part部分 about it
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而佢最好玩嘅部分就係
02:22
is they snap單位 together一起 with magnets攝石.
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佢靠磁鐵連接一齊
02:25
So you can't put them the wrong way.
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所以你唔會搞錯佢哋嘅方向
02:28
The bricks are color-coded彩色編碼.
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佢哋用顏色嚟區分功能
02:30
Green綠色 is output輸出, blue藍色 is power權力,
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綠色係輸出、藍色係電源
02:33
pink粉紅色 is input輸入 and orange is wire.
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粉紅色係輸入、橘色係電線
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So all you need to do is snap單位 a blue藍色 to a green綠色
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只要將藍色同綠色連埋一齊
02:38
and very quickly迅速 you can start初時 making決策 larger circuits電路.
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跟住你就可以開始做啲大啲迴路
02:41
You put a blue藍色 to a green綠色,
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藍色同綠色接埋一齊
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you can make light.
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佢就會發光
02:45
You can put a knob旋鈕 in between之間
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你都可以將旋鈕接喺中間
02:49
and now you've made作出 a little dimmer黯淡.
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佢就可以調亮度
02:52
Switch out the knob旋鈕
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換走旋鈕
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for a pulse脈衝 module糢塊,
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換成脈衝元件
02:57
which is here,
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咁樣
03:00
and now you've made作出 a little blinker信號燈.
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你就可以整到閃光
03:04
Add添加 this buzzer蜂鳴器
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再加上一個聲音元件
03:06
for some extra額外 punch啤机
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比多個功能比佢
03:08
and you've created創建 a noise譟聲 machine.
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咁你就整咗一個警報器
03:10
I'm going to stop that.
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佢好嘈
03:12
So beyond超越 simple簡單 play,
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經過呢啲小示範之後
03:15
littleBitslittleBits are actually講真 pretty powerful強大.
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littleBits 其實係好強大
03:17
Instead相反 of having to program程序, to wire, to solder釬料,
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我哋唔需要識寫程式、接電線或者焊接
03:20
littleBitslittleBits allow允許 you to program程序
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littleBits 就可以比你自己設計程式
03:22
using使用 very simple簡單 intuitive直觀 gestures手勢.
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借由好簡單嘅直覺動作
03:24
So to make this blink眨眼 faster更快 or slower,
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令佢閃得快啲或慢啲
03:26
you would just turn this knob旋鈕
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你只需要轉下呢度
03:28
and basically基本上 make it pulse脈衝 faster更快 or slower.
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就可以達到目的
03:31
The idea想法 behind背後 littleBitslittleBits
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littleBits 想傳達嘅唸法係
03:33
is that it's a growing增長 library圖書館.
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佢一個現成的知識庫
03:35
We want to make every single interaction互動 in the world世界
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我哋都想令全世界嘅互動
03:37
into a ready-to-use現成使用 brick.
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融合喺一嚿現成嘅積木
03:39
Lights, sounds聽上去, solar太陽 panels, motors電機 --
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燈光、聲音、太陽能板、摩打⋯等等
03:41
everything should be accessible訪問.
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呢啲都必須係稀鬆平常嘅
03:43
We've我哋都 been giving littleBitslittleBits to kids孩子 and seeing看到 them play with them.
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我哋要令 littleBits 進入小朋友嘅生活玩
03:46
And it's been an incredible不可思議 experience經驗.
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呢個真係好難得嘅經驗
03:48
The nicest最好 thing is how they start初時 to understand理解
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最好嘅嘢係佢哋開始嘗試了解
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the electronics電子 around them from everyday每日
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每天圍繞佢哋周圍嘅電子設備
03:52
that they don't learn學習 at schools學校.
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呢啲係喺學校學唔到架
03:54
For example例子, how a nightlight夜光 works工程,
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譬如一盞夜燈係點樣運作
03:56
or why an elevator電梯 door stays保持 open打開,
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或者電梯門點樣維持開住嘅狀態
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or how an iPodIpod responds響應 to touch.
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又或者 iPod 嘅觸控點樣運用
04:01
We've我哋都 also been taking採取 littleBitslittleBits to design設計 schools學校.
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我哋都會將 littleBits 比設計學校使用
04:03
So for example例子, we've我哋都 had designers設計師
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例如,我哋令到一啲
04:06
with no experience經驗 with electronics電子 whatsoever任何
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完全無電子相關經驗嘅設計師
04:08
start初時 to play with littleBitslittleBits as a material材料.
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開始將 littleBits 當成一種工具
04:11
Here you see, with felt覺得 and paper water bottles,
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你睇,絨布同紙做嘅水瓶
04:14
we have Geordie乔迪 making決策 ...
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喬迪整咗呢樣嘢⋯
04:16
(Clanging鏗鏘)
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(鈴聲)
04:18
(Buzzing嗡嗡)
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(叭~叭叭)
04:20
A few幾個 weeks禮拜 ago we took littleBitslittleBits to RISDRISD
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幾個禮拜前我哋將 littleBits 帶到
「羅德島設計學院(RISD)」
04:23
and gave them to some designers設計師
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介紹一啲設計師玩
04:25
with no experience經驗 in engineering工程 whatsoever任何 --
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同樣無工程學相關經驗嘅
04:27
just cardboard紙皮, wood木材 and paper -- and told them "Make something."
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我哋比啲硬紙板、木板同
紙佢哋,等佢哋做啲「嘢」
04:30
Here's呢度有 an example例子 of a project項目 they made作出,
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比一樣佢哋整嘅嘢你哋睇
04:32
a motion-activated運動激活 confetti紙屑 canon佳能 ball.
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「天女散花加農砲」
04:35
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
04:37
But wait, this is actually講真 my favorite中意 project項目.
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但呢個真係我最鍾意嘅一個
04:41
It's a lobster龍蝦 made作出 of playdoughplaydough
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用彩色泥做嘅龍蝦
04:46
that's afraid害怕 of the dark黑暗.
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佢好怕黑
04:48
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
04:52
To these non-engineers非工程師, littleBitslittleBits became成為 another另一個 material材料,
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對唔係工程師嘅人嚟講
littleBits 成為咗另一種工具
04:55
electronics電子 became成為 just another另一個 material材料.
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電子學都係
04:57
And we want to make this material材料 accessible訪問 to everyone個個都.
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我哋希望呢個工具係平常嘅
05:00
So littleBitslittleBits is open-source開源.
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littleBits 係個共享資源
05:02
You can go on the website網站, download下載 all the design設計 files文件, make them yourself自己.
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你可以去我哋嘅網站下載
設計稿,自己動手做
05:05
We want to encourage鼓勵 a world世界
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我哋想激發一個世界
05:07
of creators創造者, of inventors發明家, of contributors貢獻,
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有創作家、發明家同貢獻者
05:10
because this world世界 that we live in,
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因為我哋住嘅呢個世界
05:12
this interactive互動 world世界, is ours我哋.
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係一個彼此互動嘅世界
05:14
So go ahead提前 and start初時 inventing發明.
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所以,我哋一齊開始發明喇!
05:16
Thank you.
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多謝
05:18
(Applause掌聲)
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(掌聲)
Translated by Sin Chi Tang
Reviewed by Queenie Lee

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Ayah Bdeir - Engineer and artist
Ayah Bdeir is an engineer and artist, and is the founder of littleBits and karaj, an experimental art, architecture and technology lab in Beirut.

Why you should listen
Ayah Bdeir is the creator of littleBits, an open source system of preassembled, modular circuits that snap together with magnets – making learning about electronics fun, easy and creative. An engineer, inventor and interactive artist, Ayah received her master’s degree from the MIT Media Lab and undergraduate degrees in computer engineering and sociology from the American University of Beirut. Ayah has taught graduate classes at NYU and Parsons and taught numerous workshops to get non-engineers – particularly young girls – interested in science and technology. She is also the founder of karaj, Beirut’s lab for experimental art, architecture and technology. littleBits was named Best of Toyfair, has won the editor’s Choice award from MAKE magazine, and has been acquired by MoMA for its collection.
More profile about the speaker
Ayah Bdeir | Speaker | TED.com

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