Kano launches DIY touch screen computer kit to help children learn to code

Kano has announced the latest version of its DIY computer designed to help kids learn to code.

The London-based company already offers a range of devices that anyone over the age of 6 can create from scratch, including the $ 150 computer kit that works with any TV screen and computer kit complete $ 200 its own screen. Now, Kano adds a touch screen computer kit to its arsenal of DIY devices.

Costing $ 279.99, the computer kit Touch is almost identical to the complete computer kit launched last September, except that the new incarnation has a touch screen.

VentureBeat was able to get their hands on one of these kits before it was launched and tested it on a 6 year old real world child to see how things were going.

How it works

The kit includes a 10.1 "HD touch screen and a wireless keyboard with a built-in touchpad that serves as a mouse. Kano's own Kano OS is preinstalled so that the computer is ready for operation as soon as assembly is complete.

Out of the box, you get all the components you need to make a working computer. The screen and the keyboard are already built. it is rather the technology "behind the scenes" that you will need to assemble, including the speaker, the "brain block", the cable block, the battery, the power board and the Raspberry Pi 3 (the "brain"). be connected with the driver card and a series of cables housed behind the screen.

The configuration process is very simple and the "Ages 6+" directive is probably correct. Much younger than that and I imagine that it would take a little too much parental intervention, but the most I had to do was to make sure that the 6 year old child did not try to force a USB cable into its designated backward port.

The guide provided with the kit is simple to follow and just turn the page and put the component and cables in place of the instruction.

With all the components and wires in place, simply place the screen and its components inside its small transparent plastic case and position the keyboard next to it, ready for action.

As with all of his other computer kits, Kano offers many game-based exercises to help you develop your coding skills. For example, you can hack Minecraft or design your own Snake or Pong game, allowing you to control the speed, size and composition of the ball, as well as reconfigure the background color and design.

DIY coding startups

Kano is one of many DIY computer coding startups to emerge in recent years. It has raised more than $ 40 million in funding since its inception in 2013, including a $ 28 million round in November and an undisclosed amount of Sesame Street's venture capital fund in June.

Other similar companies that are currently attracting venture capital investments include London-based start-up Pi-top, which recently raised $ 16 million for its modular PCs, and Piper, which announced last year $ 7.6 million in funding. .

Today's launch also comes a few months after Kano teamed up with Warner Bros. to launch a new Harry Potter coding kit, which includes an integrated wireless wand that teaches young people to code by setting predefined challenges.

Adding a touch screen to the set is a key development for Kano kits, as many devices are nowadays primarily designed for tactile or scan-based actions. The design of applications and software must take into account the interface between the user.

"Your first experience in computer and code should be simple, fun and powerful," said Alex Klein, co-founder and CEO of Kano. "The Touch Computer Kit takes the experience of building your own computer to a new level, revealing the secrets of touch interaction. By combining block and text encoding, it shows you how modern computer systems work. It allows you to enter the screen rather than just in front and provides a set of art, music and programming tools, not just toys.