H79.2522 Lecture 4 Credits
Instructor(s): Allen, Gray, Igoe
Creating interactive work relies on building a relationship between the object and the viewer. By gathering information in the form of input, processing that into meaningful data, and outputting that contextually, new forms of engagement and interaction with an audience can be established. In this class, students focus on the input side of physical computing by researching various sensors and sensing methods and developing example methods for their use. The class assembles a library of sensor applications for interactive applications, and applies this research to applications in other classes at ITP. The class begins with a review of the electronics of sensor systems as learned in physical computing. From there, we talk about types of sensors; sensors, time, and events; amplification and filtering of sensor signals; sensor networks; data processing, statistical methods, gesture recognition and related topics that aid in making sensor systems effective. There are a number of one-week exercises that students complete to demonstrate the techniques discussed in class. In addition, students are responsible for a major sensor research project in which they explain the operating principles of a given sensor and present a working example of the sensor in use. These research projects are presented throughout the second half of the semester, and collected as part of a growing online reference project. There is no final application project, but students are evaluated on the application of their research (or that of other students) in production projects developed for other classes. Additionally, students are evaluated by the level of thoughtfulness and detail put in to their documentation.
