November 24, 2007
Reading for November 27th, are now posted. Enjoy!
October 2, 2007
To upload your thoughtless acts, create a new assignment page like any other lab. You'll see "Thoughtless Acts" listed as one of the assignment options.
May 24, 2008
This site has been archived and is no longer editable. Stay tuned for the next version, coming in the fall!
Click on a day in the schedule to see the assignments assigned/due on each day, as well as to find links to readings and presentations.
The course will consist of five graded components, as described below:
In-class lab projects (Thursdays) will be graded based on completion and the amount of effort put in. We will provide both "beginner" and "advanced" options, and students are expected to strive for growth in their skill sets during the semester.
Homework assignments will build on the lab projects. Students are expected to post descriptions, images, and source code of their assignments on the course website.
Design a Tangible User Interface that takes advantage of your hands to manipulate digital information. Apply it to a topic of your research interest (e.g., tool for communication, learning/education, design, etc.). Your project may be based on a completely new design or redesign of familiar everyday objects.
Midterm project process and schedule:
| 9/25 | Form a group (maximum of 3 members) for your project and write a 1-page proposal and post it on the course website. |
| 10/9 | Progress sketches due (post your sketches on the course website). |
| 10/16 | In-class midterm project presentation. Present your poster and optional mockups. |
Reflect on your midterm project. You may expand your midterm project, or take a new approach to a Tangible User Interface that takes advantage of your hands to manipulate digital information.
You may continue to work as a group (maximum of 3 members) or as an individual. If you work in a group, be clear about each member’s role in the project.
| 11/6 | Finalize your group for project and post your proposal on the course website. Create a list of materials you need. (We may be able to help.) |
| 11/15 | In-class final project progress report and critique |
| 12/6 and 12/11/ | Final project exhibition. Present your prototype. Be prepared to discuss your design principles and design process. |
| 12/13 | Final write up due. |
The final project will involve the ideation and implementation of a novel tangible user interface. It may be a continuation of the midterm project or based on a new idea. The focus on the project will be on the originality and quality of the idea more than on the extent of the implementation (although both are of course important). Project output will be the interface prototype itself (and an optional poster or handouts), which will be presented at an open house at the end of the semester. Additionally, students will be expected to write a short report on the project, including preliminary evaluation of their interface or an outline of what types of evaluation might be conducted in the future.
Students are expected to come to class, engage in discussion, and put contribute to lab sessions.
Assignments for each week are listed below.
| Title | Description | Start Date | Due Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lab 1 - Introduction to Physical Computing | Creating a conversation between the physical world and the virtual world of the computer, with a process of transduction. | 08/30/2007 | 09/06/2007 |
| Lab 2 - Digital Input and Output with Arduino boards | Homework | 09/06/2007 | 09/13/2007 |
| Lab 3 - Sensors: Analog input and LEDs | Digitize potentiometer input and use pulse width modulation of LEDs as output, variable resistors as sensors. | 09/13/2007 | 09/20/2007 |
| Midterm Project 1 - Group project proposal | Creating a project group and posting a project proposal. | 09/11/2007 | 09/25/2007 |
| Lab 4 - Sensors: Force sensitive resistors and photocells | Use force resistive and photocells sensors as input and use variable LEDs (build on the pulse width modulation exercise from Week 3) as output; consider multiple force sensors and photocells? | 09/20/2007 | 09/27/2007 |
| Lab 5 - Output: Piezo speakers/Processing | Piezo speaker, serial output to work with Processing. | 09/27/2007 | 10/04/2007 |
| Midterm Project 2 - Progress sketches | Sketches documenting your progress so far. | 09/25/2007 | 10/09/2007 |
| Lab 6 - Output: DC motors | Intro to working with DC motors, control a DC motor’s speed. | 10/04/2007 | 10/11/2007 |
| Midterm Project 3 - Final presentation | In class poster and mockup presentation. | 10/09/2007 | 10/16/2007 |
| Lab 7 - Output: Servo motors | Intro to working with servo motors, control the motion of servo motors. Using the servo motor to explore rotational and linear motions. | 10/11/2007 | 10/18/2007 |
| Thoughtless Acts | Thoughtless Acts Gallery | 10/02/2007 | 10/22/2007 |
| Lab 8 - Output: Simple Mechanics | Make a mechanical clock | 10/25/2007 | 11/01/2007 |
| Final Project 1 - Group formation and proposal | Form a project group; post a proposal and materials list online. | 10/16/2007 | 11/06/2007 |
| Lab 9 - Synthesis: Invent a musical instrument (Group work) | Work together in a small group to integrate the tools you've acquired to create a new musical instrument. | 11/01/2007 | 11/08/2007 |
| Final Project 2 - Progress Report | In-class final project progress report and critique. | 11/06/2007 | 11/15/2007 |
| Final Project 3 - Final project exhibition in class | Final project exhibition. Present your prototype. Be prepared to discuss your design principles and design process. | 11/15/2007 | 12/06/2007 |
| Final Project 3 - Final project exhibition in class | Final project exhibition. Present your prototype. Be prepared to discuss your design principles and design process. | 11/15/2007 | 12/06/2007 |
| Final Project 4 - Final write up | Final write up due. | 11/15/2007 | 12/13/2007 |
