Course
Syllabus
Instructor:
Camille Norment
Thursday 12:30 - 3PM
Office Hours: Tuesday 1pm - 5pm (please email me to make an
appointment)
|
|
|
This
course operates from a department standard syllabus. The syllabus
presented here is dynamic will change as per the specific interests
and needs of the class. You will be notified of all changes
in class.
|
|
| Week
1 (Sep. 5):
Week
2 (Sep. 12):
PLEASE COME TO CLASS WITH YOUR SUPPLIES
- Intro
to Electronics: Definition of components, reading a meter,
reading a schematic, Ohm's Law
- Soldering
- Lab
Assignment: Electronics
- Reading
for week 3: Myron Krueger, "Responsive Environments",
in Packer & Jordan, Multimedia: From Wagner to Virtual
Reality, ch. 12, pp. 104-120.
- Extra
assignment for week 3/4: Attend a Tool safety session in the
shop
Week
3 (Sep. 19):
Week
4 (Sep. 26):
Week
5 (Oct. 3):
Week
6 (Oct. 10):
Week
7 (Oct. 17):
- Tech
research group
- Analog
output: Devices that create analog motion or sound.
- Lab
Assignment: servo
- No reading
assignment: paper due next week
Week
8 (Oct. 24):
- View
Midterm Projects
- Midterm
journal entry due
- Reading
for Week 9: Petzold, Code, ch. 20
Week
9 (Oct. 31):
Week
10 (Nov. 7):
Week
11 (Nov. 14):
- Tech
research group
- MIDI
and other control protocols
- Lab
Assignment: Talking to a MIDI device
Week
12 (Nov. 21):
Thanksgiving
Break
Week
13 (Dec. 5):
- Final
Project Workshop/Presentation
Week
14 (Dec. 12):
- Final
Project Presentation
|
|
| Lab
Assignments:
There is
a lab activity for nearly every class in the semester. Some
of them are very short, some are more detailed. Most are just
the basic steps you need to go through to understand the principle
discussed in class. From there, you should come up with an application
of the lab's principles. Each student is expected to at least
complete the steps outlined in the lab activity each week. Each
class, a random number of people will be picked to show what
they have been working on in the lab. We will not look at everyone's
project every week, but everyone will show work from the lab
at least a few times during the semester.
See
these notes on TROUBLESHOOTING your BX-24
|
|
| Technology
Research:
Each week
a few students will present a new physical sensing or output
technology, or a new/interesting applied technology concept.
Sensor examples include specific touch sensors, proximity sensors,
force sensors, and so forth; output examples could include various
drive motor controllers, video switching, fading, or tracking
devices, or audio devices which can be addressed from a microcontroller.
Applied technology concept examples include wearable computing,
smart furniture, niche market applications, and rapid emergence
of strange and intriguing devices.
This should
be a quick 5 - 10 minute presentation. Think of these presentations
as a way to introduce your classmates on various technologies
that they may be able to use in future projects, and to develop
a body of tools for your own work. If possible, you should demonstrate
the technology as part of your presentation, or part of another
project. Research projects should be accompanied by an online
report with links. A few
suggested technology topics are available online.
|
|
| Midterm
and Final:
Every student
will complete a midterm project and a final project, an original
application of some of the principles covered in class. Students
may work alone or in groups. If you work in a group, every member
of the group will be expected to know how the whole project
works, and to explain the work that both you and your partner
or partners have done on the project.
Final projects
will be shown in class. You must be able to set your project
up, demonstrate it in action, and take it down in class.
Projects should be accompanied by a context analysis
inclusive of a simple user experience scenario, and specified
design goals of the prototype.
Evaluation
Criterion:
• Understanding and utilization of some of the concepts
covered in class
• Brief context analysis and user experience scenario
• Specified design goals
Remember
- Keep it simple clear, and goal directed!
|
|
| Journal
& Documentation:
You will
be expected to keep an online journal of your work in this class.
Think of it as a letter to the next group to take this class:
the tricks you found that work, the pitfalls you hit, ways around
them, sources for materials, reference material, etc. It can
be no-frills HTML, no pictures necessary, just notes. No flash,
shockwave, or other sites that are not text-searchable, please.
Here's a template
you can use. Ideally, it will give you a head start on documenting
your projects for future portfolio reference, and those who
come after you a place to look for advice.
A journal
entry is part of the assignment for each project you do, at
the least. Feel free to do more entries as you see fit. These
will be added as links to the class site.
Work on
this as you go, don't put it off until the end. Your fellow
classmates will find your notes as useful too.
See the
HTML
template with areas you should consider for each project.
You should
document your projects thoroughly. Plan in advance, and perhaps
as a group, to have what you need to document at least your
midterms and finals. Photos, video, drawings, schematics, and
notes are all valuable forms of documentation.
See other
student
journals for examples.
Midterm
Paper
Your midterm
paper is essentially a longer journal entry, a review of your
thoughts on physical interaction at that stage, and a discussion
of issues related to it that most interest you. Bring in material
from any of the readings for this entry as well, or your own
readings, as appropriate. Specific instruction will be given
out later. Length: approx. 1000 words.
Grading:
- Participation
& Attendance: 15%
- Lab Assignments:
15%
- Technology
research: 15%
- Journal:
20%
- Midterm:
15%
- Final:
20%
|
|
| Parts
A list
of parts needed for the first few weeks follows. You will
end up spending money on materials in this class. It can be
done reasonably inexpensively, by scavenging parts, reusing
parts, and so forth, but more ambitious projects inevitably
make demands on your budget.
|
|
| Books
Below are
recommended texts for the course in general. All of them are
good inspirational guides for physical computing and computing
in general. They are not assigned, but pick up at least one
of them and incorporate it in your midterm journal, if nothing
else.
I will add
to the bibliography regularly with recommended books and reading
assignments.
The Design
of Everyday Things, Donald A. Norman ©1990 Doubleday
Books; ISBN: 0385267746
If you design at all, or work with people who do, read this.
A lucid approach to the psychology of everyday interaction and
how the objects we deal with could be better designed to match
the strengths and weaknesses of the way we think. His predictions
about physical interaction design and information design, some
accurate and some not, are interesting history lessons eleven
years after the first edition.
The User
Illusion: Cutting Consciousness Down to Size, Tor Nørretranders
©1998 Viking Press; ISBN: 0670875791
Makes the case that much of our experience of the world does
not come to us through our consciousness; in fact, the majority
of it dealt with pre-consciously.
Understanding
Interactivity, Chris Craw ford, ©2000
Self-published and written in a very casual style, this book
nevertheless is an excellent and concise summary of what interaction
design is, why it is important, and what problems it brings
with it. Anyone seriously interested in interaction design,
physical or not, should read this book.
The following
are good references for electronics hobbyists. Take a look at
both, and get one or the other as a general reference, or find
an electronics reference of your own (a few more are listed
in the books
section of the site).
Getting
Started in Electronics, Forrest M. Mims III, ©1983,
Forrest M. Mims III
A very basic introduction to electricity and electronics, written
in notebook style. Includes descriptions of the basic components
and what they do, and how they relate to each other.
Practical
Electronics for Inventors, 1st Edition. Paul Scherz,
©2000, McGraw-Hill Professional Publishing; ISBN: 0070580782
A more in-depth treatment of electronics, with many practical
examples and illustrations. An excellent reference for those
comfortable with the basic topics. The use of plumbing systems
as examples to demonstrate electric principles makes for some
very clear illustrations of how different components work. Good
chapters on sound electronics and motors as well.
A longer
list of books for inspiration and reference is available online
at the books
link.
|
|
|