littleBits is an open source library of small electronic components that are already pre-assembled.
The very clever and cool thing about them is that they snap together a bit like LEGO using magnets. This means you don’t need to solder anything, which suits me because I’ve got as much skill with a soldering iron as a gorilla wearing boxing gloves juggling eggs. But it also means the polarity of the circuits is automatically enforced, so you’re not going to burn anything out.
It’s being developed by Jeff Hoefs and Ayah Bdeir with support from Eyebeam and Smart Design. More info in the littleBits demo video.
(Via Interaction Design Umeå).