Project 2
Create a physically interactive system of your choice. Your focus in this assignment should be on careful and timely sensing of the relevant actions of the person or people you’re designing for, and on a clear, prompt, and effective response. Remember that any interactive system involves listening, thinking, and speaking from both parties. Your project must demonstrate a clear and engaging physical interaction.
The interaction should be iterative (according to Crawford’s definition). Don’t just make a system where the user takes one action, the system responds, and it’s over. Make a system where the user sees the system’s response, and takes more action in response, in a continued loop.
Spend a significant focus on the final enclosure of this project. Your final object must look finished and polished! All circuitry should be soldered on a prototyping board, wires should be organized and secured, and your enclosure should be produced using the advanced tools available in the BTU lab (laser cutter, 3d printer, etc..).
You are expected to push your abilities to produce something that utilizes what you have learned in the class and that is meaningful or useful in some manner to yourself or the world.
You are welcome to work in groups.
Due Dates
Tuesday, April 3rd - project proposal due
Tuesday, April 24th - show a working-prototype in class
Thursday, May 3rd - process presentation and demonstration of your working project
Sunday, May 6th by end of day - final documentation due on your blog
Proposal Requirements
Due April 3rd in class
- A detailed description of what you intend to build both from a technical and conceptual perspective - what is this interactive object and how will you build it. What is the purpose? Who is the user?
- A parts list - this includes things you need to buy AND parts that you already have
- A drawing or interaction diagram of the project
Make a blog post of your proposal. Your proposal will be given a 👍 or 👎 by April 5th.
Prototype Requirements
Due April 24th in class
- You should be 90% finished with the project at this point
- Demonstrate functional inputs / outputs - 80% of the hardware and software should be working
- Prototype of the final enclosure
Documentation
Due Sunday May 6th by 11:59pm on your blog
Your final blog documentation must include:
- a formal description / summary of the project (~500 words)
- high-quality photos of the finished object
- video of your working project that demonstrates the interaction
- schematic drawing of your circuit (created in Fritzing or EagleCAD)
- the code for your project (posted via gist or with a link to github)
You are expected to document your work thoroughly on your blog as you go. Include details of all phases of the project. Include a project summary as well, explaining what the system you built is, what it does, and what purpose it’s intended to serve. Your summary should be written in a way that someone unfamiliar with our class or your work would understand. You should also explain the technical details about how the project was built (so that you or someone else could conceivably recreate the project).
Project Evaluation Criteria: 20% each
Concept, Hardware, Software, Enclosure, Presentation/Documentation
Project 2 is worth 250 pts