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Chase Roberts observed a peculiar detail five years ago, when his son was still a baby. The buttons were the small boy's obsession. He could sit on his lap for hours, poised at the height of the light switch, tapping it repeatedly to see how the bulbs turned on and off. That cause-and-effect relationship, which included clicks and lights, enthralled him to the point that he didn't want to recreate it any longer because his father's arms wouldn't let him. 

Around the same time, Chase discovered something else: there was no way to keep the small one occupied if he got bored, which happened when they went to his church meetings. Putting the two concepts together, his curiosity with switches and the need to entertain him—all of which were seasoned by his status as a computer expert—he questioned himself, "Why not develop a book with basic on and off schemes tailored for babies?" Why not write a children's book about computer engineering? 

He goes to the park instead of engineering 

The concept may seem unusual at first, but Chase started to work, and, after five years of hard work, parking, and restarting the project multiple times, he has a finished product: the book Computer Engineering for Babies, which was funded through Kickstarter. The book is exactly what it says in the title: six thick cardboard pages that allow children to explore the logical doors of fundamental computing, such as AND, NOT, OR, and XOR, in a very simple and interesting way. 

When I was in school, I studied computer engineering and was shocked at how easy some principles were. But it wasn't until after high school that I was introduced to any. Computers are made up of on and off signals, and this book describes how computers mix on and off signals to perform fascinating tasks, Chase clarifies. The goal is for kids to learn how computers function from cradle to grave. 

How? In a way, it's not dissimilar to the set of switches with which his own son amused himself five years ago, albeit in a more intricate manner and presentation.

2 switches, an LED light, and six pages are included in the book, each with a different function: WIRE, OR, NOT, AND, XOR, and LATCH. The system recognizes which one is open to the youngster thanks to sensors, and the buttons take on one of two functions. If the book is open in AND, for example, the lamp will only turn on if both switches are pressed simultaneously. If they are not, the LED will only light up if the reader does not press any of the buttons. 

Each page flashes the LED in a different color to make it more didactic and enjoyable.

Although it appears to be a simple mechanism, Chase has been working on it for a long time, having built at least eight prototypes and rebuilt the circuit board half a dozen times. "I wanted the book to be as simple as possible to use. Some may dismiss it as a minor detail, but I spent months searching for the appropriate arcade-style button to get the perfect click when you press it. I even considered making my own buttons, but decided against it, "he declares. 

The end result seems promising. The book includes a battery that should last approximately a year, according to its designer, though it can be replaced. The project has roughly 5,000 backers on Kickstarter, and it can be pre-ordered for 33 dollars (30.7 euros) on the web.

CONCLUSION:

Computer engineering for babies is an educational book that aims to teach children the fundamentals of – well- computer engineering. It's a brilliant concept that uses simple switches and a single lightbulb to illustrate how computers work.