A month after Sept. 11, software developer Peter Semmelhack, married with a newly born son, found himself wanting a gadget that would let him know where his loved ones were at any given time — maybe a device with a GPS unit and a modem that would plot a person’s location on a map online.

"It’s not a complicated device," said Semmelhack. "But it didn’t exist."

Now it could. Semmelhack has developed a line of Linux-based hardware modules that can be snapped together like Legos, allowing consumers to build just about any kind of electronic device they want. (Open-source software called Eclipse is available for programming.)

The New York City-based company is called Bug Labs and according to founder and CEO Semmelhack, the Bug — still in a beta version — could be available to consumers by the end of the year.

"I’m really intrigued that they are planning to make everything open source. I think it’s a step in an interesting direction," said Leah Buechley, a computer science researcher at the University of Colorado, Boulder.

At the hub of the system is the Bugbase, a component that consists of a CPU, 128MB of memory, built-in WiFi, a rechargeable battery, USB, Ethernet, and a small LCD screen.

Wannabe innovators can purchase Bugmodules — for now, including a digital camera and video camera, a GPS device, a touch-sensitive LCD screen, and a motion detector — that snap into the base. Eventually Semmelhack wants to expand the number of available modules to 81, including such items as a bar code/RFID scanner and a CO2 detector.

An online community called the Bugnet allows users to share what they’ve built with other users, get feedback and trade advice. People will also be able to download specs and source code from the site to create their modules.

"I think the Web component is an essential part of any project like this," said Buechley. Not only can people build on what other people have built before, but seeing what others are doing can spark creativity, she said.

Semmelhack, who has 18 years of experience in the software industry, thinks the online community and the fact that the components are open-source could upset the natural order of consumer electronics. Now people buy electronic devices from a few big corporations, such as Sony and Samsung. But in the future, people could be buying cutting edge devices from a multitude of smaller companies.

"That would enable people or anybody to economically pursue niches that were impossible before," he said.

Who those people will be, though, is a question, said Buechley. From her point of the view, the Bug Labs components are more sophisticated and more expensive than some other do-it-yourself kits, such as those from Arduino (a main controller costs $35) and the PicoCricket (mostly for kids, costing $250).

Semmelhack’s son, who is now six years old, recently used the Bug components to build his own device — a motion-detecting remote control. Wave your hand once to reverse; twice to fast-forward.

"If my six-year old can come up with something that I never thought of, imagine what someone older can do," said Semmelhack.