Bug Labs: Build your own dream gadget

Snap up to four modules onto the BugBase, and you've got your own custom gadget.

(Credit: Bug Labs)

It's the rare product that excites CNET editors across all categories. The Bug Labs platform, which has been the subject of several conversations around the CNET booth, is one such rarity.

Described as "the Lego of gadgets" by Webware's Rafe Needleman, the Bug Labs platform starts with a minicomputer, the Bug Base, onto which you can snap multiple modules, such as a digital camera or an LCD screen. You can then program your own software to run your custom gadget or download software others have written from the Bug Labs site. Need a GPS-enabled digital camera that will automatically upload your images to Flickr? With the Bug Labs platform, you can build one.

Aside from being eager to tinker with the product, we're thrilled to see such an innovative approach to consumer electronics. The Bug Platform is totally open source, highly configurable, and designed to go wherever consumers' imaginations take them. Plus, the company has a unique "early adopter" pricing scheme, in which the price is lower during the first 60 days; this is a great way to encourage people to start developing software to share.

For more information, check out Tom Merritt's video from the CNET Stage.