The BBC has started deliveries of its micro:bit pocket sized computers to school children across the UK.
The micro:bit is a handheld, fully programmable computer being given free to every school child aged 11 to 12.
It is 70 times smaller and 18 times faster than the original BBC Micro computers used in schools in the early 1980s. The computer is designed to make learning the basics of computing and programming more interesting for children.
The Micro Bit is a collaboration project between 29 partners, which includes tech giants such as Microsoft, Samsung, and Barclays.
The device features 25 red LED lights that can flash messages, in addition to two programmable buttons which can control games or pause and skip songs on a playlist.
The BBC originally planned to release the devices last September. But the rollout was delayed because of design and manufacturing issues.
The corporation said that all one million pupils will now receive their devices in the coming weeks.
Micro Bit features ARM-based NXP microprocessors and Nordic Bluetooth chips, a micro USB connector, a 3-axis accelerometer and a 3-axis magnetometer.
It also incorporates ARM mbed hardware and software development kits and compiler services. An ARM Cortex-M0 based Nordic nRF51822 MCU featuring Bluetooth 4.0 will provide connectivity to several connected devices and allow children toexperiment with bringing their projects to the internet of things.
Other features of the device include the Cortex-M0+ based Kinetis KL26Z microcontroller designed by NXP, which provides USB connectivity and enables the micro:bit to be programed as simply as placing a file on a USB disk.
A micro:bit mobile app lets users send their code to micro:bit over Bluetooth without using a USB cable.
It can identify motion and tells users about the direction they are heading in. A low energy Bluetooth connection can be used to interact with other devices and the Internet.
Micro Bit can also be connected to other computers like Raspberry Pi, Arduino, and Galileo to undertake additional complex tasks.
BBC director-general Tony Hall said: "The BBC micro:bit has the potential to be a seminal piece of British innovation, helping this generation to be the coders, programmers and digital pioneers of the future."
Nordic Semiconductor CEO Svenn Tore Larsen said: "With the Nordic nRF51822 Bluetooth Smart SoC providing the connectivity for the micro:bit, we are helping to change that by enabling young people to engage with smart technologies and learn valuable new coding skills from a young age.
"The chip has an ARM Cortex-M0 core at its heart, connecting micro:bits to each other and to the wider world."
ARM CEO Simon Segars said: "The ability to code is now as important as grammar and mathematics skills and it can unlock important new career options. I can easily imagine a new wave of design entrepreneurs looking back and citing today as the day their passion for technology began."
The initiative plans to inspire digital creativity in a new generation of innovators who undertake careers related to science, technology, engineering and maths.
