This course has two main goals:
1) to provide a hands-on introduction to hardware
prototyping with the Arduino platform
2) to do so within the context of environmental sensing and activism.
Arduinos are useful microcontrollers that support easy access to sensors, motors, lights, or other components. The class covers the use of tools, various sensors, and actuators, as well as an introduction to the programming of Arduinos.
Some coding knowledge is beneficial, but the course itself does not require prior
programming or prototyping experience. The class will not provide an in-depth
technological breakdown to cover e.g. the computer science or engineering principles but targets an exploration of the Arduino platform for media design experimentation. This will be framed by a number of critical readings to situate our work in relation to ongoing debates on making, prototyping, and physical computing.
Thematically, the course will center on environmental issues. We will focus on sensing various environmental data and will align technical session with leaning the sensor technologies to register environmental conditions. The final group project will monitor hyperlocal environmental information on the Georgia Tech campus. The class should be of interest for students who want to experiment with prototyping tools, physical computing, and environmental sensing.