Laevo II

Laevo II, an update of the popular LEGO™️ Boost™️ hub controller that supports modern iOS features such as Dark Mode and Dynamic Text has been submitted to the App Store and should be available shortly.

KidPaint

When my four-year-old grandson complained that kids’ iPad drawing apps were all about “colouring-in” rather than “drawing”, what else would I do but write a drawing app for pre-school kids?

KidPaint has a super-simple, pre-literate user interface (and, if you’re into User Interface Design – it’s modeless). It also doesn’t have a print facility – it did, until grandma pointed out that button was going to get pressed a lot! What it does have is a share button that saves the little masterpiece in your Photo Library, so that you can choose to print it (or “archive” it) later.

It has three controls – colour – from a simple palette, thickness and opacity from two sliders, and three buttons – clear, share and load from the Photo Library. That’s it!

Laevo II

Laevo icon
Laevo icon

Laevo is Latin for “Boost”, and the Laevo app is a remote control for the LEGO™️ Boost™️ hub.

Programming LEGO™️ Boost™️ using LEGO™️’s official app is great fun for kids and adults alike, but debugging the mechanics of a new motorised construction can be difficult using it.

Laevo II on iPhone 11 Pro
Laevo on iPhone XI

Laevo runs on your iPhone or iPad, connects to your Boost™️ hub by Bluetooth®, shows status of the peripherals (voltage, current, distance sensor, colour sensor, tilt sensor and motors), and allows you to drive the motors remotely whilst you tweak your latest creation.

It doesn’t time-out, and will stay connected until you choose to disconnect it.

Version 2 has support for all modern iOS features like Dynamic Text & Dark Mode, and will be available soon on the App Store.

 

Okeanos

Okeanos splash screenOkeanos, a new free app from Quadrivium, is a spinnable, zoomable 3D globe showing mountains and ocean depths where you control the ocean level!

Check out the extent of Doggerland when the Ice Age drained the North Sea, or figure out how much the sea level would have to rise to sail into Samarkand! Reveal ancient land bridges and speculate about future coastlines.

Available now for free download from the App Store.

Sherpa

Ever wondered what’s round the corner? Left your guide book at home? Sherpa is an app for iPhone that uses open-source data from Wikipedia, WikiData & OpenStreetMap to show points of interest on an Apple map.

You can show any or all of the following, both on a map and in a list view (sorted by closeness to your current location):

  • Wikipedia entries about places, buildings or points of interest
  • WikiData entries (this can be vast – in some places almost every building!)
  • OpenStreetMap categories:
    • Tourist Attractions
    • Historic Sites
    • Places to Eat
    • Places to Stay
    • Places of Worship
    • Fuel Stations
    • Bus stops
  • In addition, you can choose to let Sherpa flag selected addresses from your Contacts and the locations of pictures from selected Photo Albums.

Finally, if using an iPhone, holding the app up to your ear will speak directions to the closest point of interest.

Currently in beta testing, it will be available on the App Store soon!

 

Khronos II

 

K2 iPhone splash

Khronos II, the next application from Quadrivium, calculates and draws the geometry of the harmonic movements of the earth, sun, moon and major planets in relation to the constellations.

These cycles are the basis of our human calendars – time, space and movement are interlinked – Khronos (named after the Greek god of Time) was written to illustrate for its users the relationships between time, place and astronomy, between astronomy and our human calendars, and between the calendars of different cultures.

Available now from the App Store.