Spacebrew, an open source toolkit for creating interactive spaces

Spacebrew is a new software – currently in beta release – for prototyping and producing interactive spaces.

It was developed by the Interaction Lab at the Rockwell Group, led by the (very bearded) Co-Chiefs James Tichenor (who studied at Interaction Design Institute Ivrea) and Joshua Walton.

When looking at the various options that can enable Internet of Things environments, the team realized that they were mostly closed solutions that didn’t play well with others. In response, Spacebrew is an MIT licensed open software toolkit free for use in commercial and non-commercial projects. Their hope is that it becomes something that can bridge groups together to allow them to focus on creating new and meaningful experiences.

The downloads page contains examples for Processing, Javascript, and connecting Arduino as well as links to github and social media. Mre examples with Openframeworks, Python, Electric Imp, and Cosm will be published soon.

Although not yet publicly launched, the team is now sharing it early in order get feedback and involvement from the larger community of people interested in interactive spaces.

This video gives a sense of the kinds of projects people are able to connect together with Spacebrew.