We were ready to chalk these guys up to the vaporware list, but now it’s looking as if Bug Labs just might change how we look at and use hardware. Scratch that, it might change how we make hardware. Bug Labs is making what is basically a version of Lego Mindstorm for grownups.
Like Mindstorm, a central brain, here its a Linux-enabled BUGBase, is at the heart of anything you want it to be at the heart of. The idea is that you can take any number of the 80 slated modules and combine them in your own way to make your own custom gadget. Once you’ve got what you like, you’ll be able to slim it down and mass produce it on the cheap.
Think of it this way: you’ll be able to customize your laptop in ways that nobody else ever has. Some are calling it open source hardware, which is more than a buzzword.
Bug hopes that other makers will develop custom modules for the platform. If it takes off, look for these devices to show up in cars, boats, hotels, houses, laundromats, restaurants, police stations and needle exchanges across the planet.