Live from CES: Build Your Dream Portable Device—No Soldering Required

During the discussion of current technologies driving the future, the need for modular technology—in automotive systems, robots, and personal devices—was discussed at great length. As consumer electronics continue to become more personalized, customizable, and able to interact with a growing number of other devices, they will consequently need to be more modular—not just with open software, but also with the hardware they carry. In the near future, you may be able to build your cell phone at the store—choosing a five-megapixel camera, a small LCD touchscreen and, heck, throwing in GPS capabilities. On top of that, you’ll be able to easily customize your programs, choosing from pre-packaged software or writing it—in a simple meta-language, of course—for your own needs. Today, cell phones come in packages where the manufacturer makes the big choices, putting together the hardware and software for you, making a product that is, to say the least, difficult ...