One of the leading names in modular electronics is creating new products to end obsolescence.

Technology is a pretty wasteful business. The smallest problem in a device often means you have to throw the whole thing away, producing an innumerable amount of waste and having a drastic consequence on the environment.

In response to all this waste, Silicon Valley start-up, Nascent Objects, has set itself the task of empowering people to design their own gadgets. How? Well, the start-up have created a system of modules that can be combined and recombined into different home electronics.

There are two parts to their product: modules that build function and modules that create shape. A functional module might be an LED light or a microphone. A shape module ties a collection of the functional modules together into a discrete gadget.

Nascent Objects’s first 3 products have been built on their platform and are available on Indiegogo now. A HD video camera, a wi-fi speaker and Droppler, a device that monitors water usage, are all on offer, with a smart alarm clock, baby monitor and home drone to follow.

Check out another example of modular design, Project Ara by Google.