H79.2460 Lecture 4 Credits
Instructor(s): Holoubek
In this class students create an interactive piece by hacking into common everyday devices and machines and repurposing the components within. We learn alternative and low cost methods of developing circuit boards. In this way we explore systems by examining the components and repurposing them for a new system designed by the student. This includes using elements from existing appliances and constructing ones own homemade circuit boards. We focus on cost effective methods of construction. On a larger scale, we also look at how entire systems can be repurposed with little modification to the original system. This may include looking into the workings of common appliances. The class examines both the hardware and the software sides of recycling technology. Students also look at "throwaway culture" -- and the surrounding issues of ethics, impacts, and alternative solutions for discarded technology (currently only 2% of consumers will hold onto a particular device for 5 years or more). Students are asked, "What can we recycle from this throwaway technology and what should we do with what can't be reused?" This deconstructionist approach to physical computing includes taking an appliance apart, then creating components from the ground up as part of the new system. By by co-opting the components of other systems and combining them with our own, the students have the opportunity to explore the make up of a system, create a new one, and provide commentary about technology in today’s culture. A final project is required.
