Kano Pixel Kit: Hands on with the lightboard that teaches you to code

Kano Pixel Kit

The Kano Pixel Kit is a digital display that you can build and program yourself.

Published: July 11, 2017 -- 11:30 GMT (04:30 PDT)
Photo by: Steve Ranger/ZDNet

Caption by: Steve Ranger
Kano Pixel Kit

It's mostly aimed at youngsters who are just getting interested in coding and technology.

Published: July 11, 2017 -- 11:30 GMT (04:30 PDT)
Photo by: Steve Ranger/ZDNet

Caption by: Steve Ranger
Kano Pixel Kit unboxed

Here is the kit and the parts that are to be assembled.

Published: July 11, 2017 -- 11:30 GMT (04:30 PDT)
Photo by: Steve Ranger/ZDNet

Caption by: Steve Ranger
Kano Pixel Kit assembly

All the pieces snap together very easily

Published: July 11, 2017 -- 11:30 GMT (04:30 PDT)
Photo by: Steve Ranger/ZDNet

Caption by: Steve Ranger
Kano Pixel Kit display

This is the display: a 16-by-8 grid of 128 RGB pixels.

Published: July 11, 2017 -- 11:30 GMT (04:30 PDT)
Photo by: Steve Ranger/ZDNet

Caption by: Steve Ranger
Kano Pixel Kit display

The 128 LEDs can be programmed to display 16 million colours

Published: July 11, 2017 -- 11:30 GMT (04:30 PDT)
Photo by: Steve Ranger/ZDNet

Caption by: Steve Ranger
Kano Pixel Kit assembled

Here is the fully assembled device.

Published: July 11, 2017 -- 11:30 GMT (04:30 PDT)
Photo by: Steve Ranger/ZDNet

Caption by: Steve Ranger
Kano Pixel Kit in action

Here it is with the LEDs responding to sound input.

Published: July 11, 2017 -- 11:30 GMT (04:30 PDT)
Photo by: Steve Ranger/ZDNet

Caption by: Steve Ranger
Coding with the Kano Pixel Kit

This is what the programming interface and training projects look like (note the Javascript on the right).

Published: July 11, 2017 -- 11:30 GMT (04:30 PDT)
Photo by: Steve Ranger/ZDNet

Caption by: Steve Ranger
Kano Pixel Kit in action

The lightboard can be programmed to display text, games or data from other apps.

Published: July 11, 2017 -- 11:30 GMT (04:30 PDT)
Photo by: Steve Ranger/ZDNet

Caption by: Steve Ranger