The entire setup is controlled using a smartphone application developed in MIT App Inventor, a super-easy way to prototype Android applications.

App Inventor — a Google cast-out that is now maintained by MIT — is a graphical tool that unlocks the power of an Android handset to those with the most basic of programming understanding.

After struggling for almost six months to become somewhat proficient at Python, I was extremely impressed with how much I could do using the MIT App Inventor platform.

In a time when technology is rapidly changing, the MIT App Inventor provides an excellent example of how to democratize the process of creation.