C14: Make This! Introduction to Electronics Prototyping Using Arduino

Instructor(s):
Wendy Ju -- Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA
David Sirkin -- Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA

Program Description:

Benefits:
Course is a hands-on introduction to interactive electronics prototyping for people with a variety of backgrounds, including those with no prior experience in electronics. Familiarity with programming is recommended, but not required. Participants will learn basic electronics, microcontroller programming and physical prototyping using the Arduino platform. Participants will use digital and analog sensors, LED lights and motors to build, program and customize a small "paper robot."

Topics Include:
* Basics of microcontroller architecture and firmware programming.
* Use of potentiometers, light sensors and force sensitive resistors.
* Controlling LEDs, displays and actuators from analog sensor input.

The first session introduces the Arduino environment and basic electronics. The second session applies this knowledge to the task of building an interactive robot. Instructors will share prototyping tools for participants to use, as well as a variety of LEDs, wires, connectors and sensors to augment the basic robot design.

Presentation:
Content is presented as short lectures interleaved with self-guided tutorials. Instructors will answer questions and debug problems on-on-one. At different intervals, participants can share progress and trade ideas, allowing beginners to take their time and ask questions, and more advanced participants to work on creative variations of the basic tutorial.

Instructor Background:
Wendy Ju teaches physical interaction design in Stanford's EE and Music departments. She also teaches at UC Berkeley's Architecture department, and is academic coordinator for the Cal Design Lab.

David Sirkin teaches interactive device design in Stanford's EE department, and is a researcher at Stanford's Communication between Humans and Interactive Media lab and Center for Design Research.

Resources:
Course includes a kit (yours to keep) comprising an Arduino, breadboard, LEDs, analog sensors, actuators, connecting cables and batteries. Participants are required to bring a laptop, on which they will install the Arduino software.

CHI Communities:
Design

Keywords:
Prototyping (primary keyword)
Development Tools / Toolkits / Programming Environments
Interaction Design

Other Keywords:
Mechatronics
Electronics Prototyping

[takeshiwan]

Gave me a quick intro to grasp what and how far the arduino based environment can reach for physical interaction. Thx