Crafting Material Interfaces

Due: 3pm, Tuesday, November 1, 2011
See student posts here

Working either individually or in a small group (2-3 people), you will experiment with material sensors in a hands-on project. For Tuesday’s class you should prepare a 5-10 minute presentation and a blog post that documents your project. This project can take one of two forms:

1. Build a novel sensor
Create your own sensor, document your construction process, and describe the electrical and mechanical properties of the sensor (create a draft datasheet for your sensor). See an example bare bones datasheet for a flex sensor here and a more complete one for a pressure sensor here. Your “datasheet” should include the physical dimensions of the device, a textual explanation of its basic functionality, and a quantitative documentation of its functionality. For this project, building a sensor that someone else has already built and documented is insufficient. Your sensor or construction process should be novel.

2. Build and use a material-based sensor in a design project
Build a sensor that is new to you and incorporate it in a design project. The material properties of the sensor should play an important role–aesthetic, conceptual, and/or functional–in the project. Take photos throughout your building process. Make a note of challenges you encounter and techniques or approaches you develop. Reflect on the affordances of the sensor and materials you used and how you might use them in other contexts or larger projects.

Your presentation and blog post should include:

• A description of your project.
• Images and/or videos that document your process.
• A discussion of challenges, frustrations, and/or epiphanies.
• Reflections on how you might use the material or technique in your practice in the future.

Add your blog post to the the Sensors and Projects categories. Bring your project to class on Tuesday for an in person demonstration and discussion.