syllabus

Midterm Project

Work in pairs or groups of three, make a midterm project to demonstrate that you can design and create an interactive system with physical computing. If you have a request for a group, let the TAs know. This project is due on week 9, October 31st.

Since the midtern critique is on Halloween, your midterm project can (and should) have a Halloween theme! You can make a music box that plays sound for a horror scene, a physical interface that controls a ghost buster game, or a witch hat that moves when you scream. We will have a Halloween party on the IxD floor during which you can show off your projects. It’ll be a great opportunity to present your work to your peers, staffs, and second year friends.

The project should demonstrate a novel approach to interaction, using either physical input or output or both. Think about the affordances provided by Physical Computing that are not possible with keyboard and screen interactions alone. What can be more intuitive, or more elegantly conveyed? Also think through what it is NOT well suited for. This first project will be relatively modest but can still demonstrate your concept and provide an experience that someone else can try, without hand-holding. Don’t worry if you need to keep it simple!

You may use computers and screens for output if you wish. You may also use motors and kinetic mechanisms for output, as well as high voltage output such as incandescent lights and fans, but this won’t be covered in class until the second half of the semester (if you want to try now and need help, message us or arrange office hours).

Develop your project idea with step-by-step prototyping in mind.

• Your project can be a prototype for just one segment of more ambitious idea.
• You must demonstrate the entire idea with mockups standing in for the missing parts.
• Simple and well-executed is better than complex but half-finished!

Picking out sensors for your projects.

Use the Sensor Research Assignment as a starting poiont to look into sensors we haven’t used for labs yet. Search Sparkfun, Adafruit, Modern device, and Micro Center (the only place listed that has a physical store), among others, for sensors you can buy that are known to be able to interface with Arduinos. Also search on Arduino forums and Sparkfun forums for others asking about the same things you are wondering about. Experimentation with new sensors is encouraged, but it’s okay to use ones that are easier to interface with, such as rotation, pressure, bending, light, temperature, distance, or sound volume.

Midterm Pitch, Due on October 10 (Week 6)

Together with your group, write about the following in your blogs:

• A few paragraphs about the concept behind the idea.
• A paragraph describing specifically what the input and output is.
• Sketches or images, including scale and a scenario of how someone would interact with it.
• Research report on possible technology to use (sensors, etc.) - how to interface, where to buy.
• Initial experiments with circuit and code. Just getting them to work with the Arduino at first, or use something at hand as stand in. (E.g. you don’t have your temperature sensor yet, use a potentiometer as a stand-in and turn the knob to simulate hotter and colder)

Think about how the electronics and material of the piece will be merged, even if you don’t know yet how the circuits will look. Discuss with each other how to refine and manage the idea. We will then discuss in class the best way forward, including technical and conceptual concerns.

If you feel you’re not ready to outline the idea, email or Slack us with ideas and questions.

Midterm Playtest, Due on October 24 (Week 8)

Your project should be mostly finished by now, with this last week for polishing details! We will conduct an In-class playtest for each group. This means you should come in class with:

• A working, or at least partially working prototype, with mockups standing in for the missing parts. It doesn’t have to be polished or even finished, but needs to show the core interactive mechanics.
• A concrete idea of what you’re trying to learn and improve on. Set an intention beforehand, and prepare questions that you want your playtest to answer.
• If possible, different versions, or variations of the project. If you want to see if a little design change will make a big difference, or compare which of the two color palettes work better, now is a good time to test.