H79.2672 Lecture 4 Credits
Instructor(s): Faludi
Sociable objects are devices that share. They can talk to each other, gain information about their context and react accordingly. Recent advances in wireless mesh networks have created the potential for a massively interconnected world of easy information sharing. Cheap communications, high reliability, unique addressing, small size, standardization, and routing features combine to enable exciting new interactions. Developers of toys, wearables, performance devices, portables, network objects and sensor arrays can take advantage of radio mesh networking to design more interesting behaviors for their projects. This course explores devices that connect with and respond to each other in a workshop format. The technical focus will be on 802.15.4/ZigBee wireless mesh networks. Interconnections with other platforms and devices will be examined as needed. Students will gain an expertise in using low-power radio networking to facilitate smart and novel object interactions. Prior experience with basic electronics and physical computing is helpful. Most labs and projects involve group work, so students should be ready to collaborate extensively as they experiment on the cutting edge of device interaction.
