Modular electronic and digital building systems and methods of using the same
In some embodiments, an electronic and digital building block system includes modular electronic building modules that can be electrically coupled together to create various different electronic devices. In addition to physical electronic modules, the system can include digital building blocks to further enhance and integrate the functions of an assembled bit-system that can be created/assembled by a user of the block electronic building system. The digital building blocks are not a physical module, but digital content or other software or cloud applications that can be represented as virtual digital blocks, and that can interface with the physical modules. The digital blocks can provide integration between the functionality of the physical building blocks and functionality of computer-based and/or web-based applications, programs and systems. The electronic and digital building block system can include a system program and a visualizer that can be viewed on the display of a computer device.
1 . A system comprising:
a first physical module physically connected to a plurality of physical modules in a chain configuration, wherein the first physical module comprises an edge-router; and
a remote device electronically communicating with the first physical module via the edge-router, the remote device causing a virtual display of the first physical module and the plurality of physical modules connected in the chain configuration with the first physical module, wherein the remote device is operable to:
transmit a control message to a specific physical module of the plurality of physical modules via the edge-router;
insert a digital block into the virtual display of the first physical module and the plurality of physical module connected in the chain configuration, wherein the digital block is not a physical module; and
transmit messages from the digital block to the one or more physical modules via the edge-router of the first physical module.
2 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the digital block is operable to connect to digital content from a third-party software application.
3 . The system of claim 2 , wherein the digital content is transmitted to a specific physical module of the plurality of physical modules via the edge-router in the first physical module.
4 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the digital block is operable to receive information from one of more physical modules via the edge-router in the first physical module.
5 . The system of claim 1 , where in the remote device is operable to receive topology information from the first physical module via the edge-router, wherein the virtual display is based upon the topology information.