Physical Computing Workshop

This workshop, led by Arduino co-creator Massimo Banzi, provides architects, designers and artists with an easy and inexpensive platform for prototyping with electronics. It allows participants to experiment with responsive systems and interactive spaces on a large scale by combining reusability with 'low-tech' sensors and interactive actuators that can be produced easily from off-the-shelf toys and 'hacked' devices.

The workshop uses the Arduino board to teach physical computing. The hardware consists of a microcontroller with several inputs to connect different kinds of sensors and outputs to various actuators. This setup allows for endless possibilities with the vast range of sensors and other parts available. It can be used to develop stand-alone interactive objects or can be connected to software on the computer (e.g. Processing). Using this technology allows objects to sense information from the world around them, either digital ('is the window open or closed?', 'is the room empty or not?') or analogue ('how much light is there?', 'how far away is the face?').

In particular, the workshop aims to:

1. Demystify electronics: Electronics is just another medium, which can be learned and used in hours for sketching purpose
2. Work with trial and error methodology: complicated plans are unnecessary as the experiments are simple and safe.
3. Teach the art of assemblage: as with all developers, we build from parts and later reuse them for other things. This is true for toys and devices, for components and later for the code. Using a series of methodologies based on the work of Adam Somlai-Fisher and Usman Haque on using cheap Chinese toys, participants are encouraged to play with the toys: take the toys apart, analyze them and discover how they work.

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