Magicbit is a wire-free, modular STEM education platform (Crowdfunding)

Magicbit board joins other ESP32 platforms for the STEM education market such as the Crowbits Master Kit or ESP32-based Micro:bit clones with visual programming and Arduino and/or MicroPython support, a mobile app, and training materials such as project tutorials and online courses.

Magicbit is designed to be wire-free with the hexagonal board offering four module’s connectors, an OLED display, buttons, a buzzer, and more. You can still use cables if you’d like with six crocodile clip holes and an expansion connector.

Magicbit hardware specifications:

• Wireless module based on ESP32 dual-core processor @ 240 MHz with 520kB RAM and 2.4 GHz WiFi & Bluetooth 4.2/5.x LE connectivity, plus 4MB flash storage
• Display – OLED display
• Audio – Buzzer
• USB – 1x Micro USB port for power and programming
• Expansion
  • 4x module expansions
  • Motor driver
• Misc – Reset button, 2x user buttons, potentiometer, light sensor, LEDs
• Power Supply – 5V via MicroUSB port or LiPo battery via 2-in connector plus battery charging circuit

The Magicbit Pro Kit also comes with pluggable modules including a motion sensor, a temperature sensor, an IR transmitter, an ultrasonic distance sensor, and more.

The company provides Magicblocks cloud-based IoT software with a device manager and a visual code builder based on Node-RED, but you’ll also be able to program the board with Arduino or MicroPythong if you wish, and third-party cloud platforms (Blynk, Thinger.io, Thingsboard.io, Azure, AWS, GCP…).

They’ve also developed a free mobile app called Magicblocks.io that’s currently available on Google Play for Android phones, but an iOS version is also being worked on. The app can get sensor data from the phone and use it as an input or an output device to control the Magicbit board.

So it’s a complete solution with hardware (and firmware), software tools, and a mobile app that should allow users to create projects or learn about the Internet of Things (IoT), computer programming, robotics, and electronics.  There will be free content such as tutorials, as well as premium 10-hour online courses about IoT, robotics, and so on. You’ll find more on the documentation website.

Magicbit was just successfully funded on Kickstarter and Indiegogo, and it’s now available on the latter as an “InDemand” product for about $29 for the Magicbit board plus a data, or $116 for the Magicbit Pro kit with the board and all pluggable modules shown above. The 10-hour online courses are offered for $9.

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