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Kids/Babies Maker/Development Robots/Drones

The Kamibot papercraft robot combines coloring and coding

Even among coders, it’s been said that the act of coding can be endlessly boring. Imagine trying to get a kid to pick it up — let alone stick with it! The key with anything worth learning is to make it fun, and that’s doubly true for little ones. The three-man team at 3.14 is trying to do just that with its Kamibot.

The Kamibot is a LED-equipped puck-like robot designed to take on a number of different papercraft costumes for a revolving door of new personalities. For adults, that’s a gimmick. For little ones, it’s like getting a brand new toy every time they print out another skin from the company’s website. Kamibot is based on an open-source Arduino technology, allowing kids to dip their toes into wirelessly coding their Dracula or robot-skinned, well, robot with the MIT-developed Scratch language — all while keeping them entertained in the process.

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Tools

E-Z Backscratcher makes relief easier when life’s an itch

EZBackscratcherQuid pro quo no more! The EZ Backscratcher was created for solo use. It is a curved piece of plastic that slightly resembles Little Bo Peep’s shepherd’s hook and makes it extremely easy to scratch those hard-to-reach places. The EZ Backscratcher is designed specifically for people with limited ranges of motion such as the elderly, injured or disabled. For $20, backers can scratch away at themselves unhindered. Upon reaching the $28,000 goal, EZ Backscratchers are estimated to be available by May 2014.