Kano CEO Alex Klein shows off the buildable Kano Camera Kit

After raising half a million dollars on a knockout Kickstarter campaign, the Kano Camera Kit is now closer to hitting store shelves and children’s playrooms than ever.

From the popular makers of a buildable computer for kids, the Camera Kit is a buildable 5-megapixel camera that allows children to put together, code for, and generally toy around with all aspects of a digital camera, from photo filters to flash colors. The upcoming product is making big waves among young DIY enthusiasts.

We met up with CEO Alex Klein to discuss the Camera Kit, as well as his vision for the company, as he showed off the London company’s wares at this year’s CES conference in Las Vegas.

With a business model that relies heavily on a desire to educate younger generations about how to construct and code for various technology devices, Kano has been successful because of the desires of younger generations (and their parents) to become tech saavy from an early age. As such, the Kano Camera Kit is a logical next step for the company, allowing it to change the way that many kids think about the inner workings of photography.

“In a world where a lot of people are using imagery as a form of communication, and basically preselecting filters made by geniuses at Snapchat, we’re demystifying and democratizing photography into a creative pursuit end-to-end, not just a point and click,” said Klein, “It used to be that photos were taken all kinds of ways with all kinds of substances, now most of us take photos in the same way — with our smartphones.”

Coding on for the new camera will be made simple: Kano code, the software system used to design software for the device, works on any device with a web browser, and connects wirelessly to any Kano device, and will work with any computer, tablet, or smartphone.

The Kano Camera Kit is scheduled for release in 2019, but Klein did allude to the fact that the company would like to release the new product before the end of the year — and perhaps in time for Christmas 2018 — if possible.