DIGF 6L01+DIGF6K01 Creation & Computation
Number of credits: 6 - MFA/MDES/MA students; 3 - Diploma students
Duration: September 24th – December 10th
Day and Time:
Wednesday 11:30-15:30
Thursday 17:30-21:30
Location: TBD
_____________________________________________________________________
Professor: Kate Hartman
Email: [email protected]
Office Location: 7701, 205 Richmond St. W
Professor: Nick Puckett
Email: [email protected]
Office Location: 7701, 205 Richmond St. W
_____________________________________________________________________
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
Creation and Computation lifts the lid on the potentials of the tools and methods for
creating interactive, networked, and intelligent designs. The course is organized around
a series of design projects that serve as platforms for applied research and development.
The projects are accompanied by a series of technical introductions that provide
students with a strong foundation in the basics of programming, physical computing,
digital fabrication, screen-based computation, networking and connectivity.
This course is taken by both Digital Futures Diploma and Masters students. There are
two teaching sessions each week: daytime and evening. Masters students attend both
sessions and diploma students attend the evening sessions. The group projects mix
both masters (6 credits) and diploma (3 credits) students and groups are expected to
self-organize and arrange working time and communication approaches to ensure that
their team is functioning well for all their members. Groups will also be doing plenty of
work outside of the teaching slots.
Context
The world around you is made of intelligent content - objects, devices, and networks that
constantly capture data, think, and react. Over 65% of products launched this year have a
component of embedded intelligence, and at the same time new research pushes the boundary
of what “intelligence” even means. This course is your first step in developing the skills
necessary to thrive in an environment where behavior must be considered as much as form and
material. By the end of the term you will have the tools and knowledge to make the great switch
from digital consumer to digital designer.
More about the course
The course is organized around a series of 3 projects and a supporting series of introductions to
software, hardware, fabrication, and prototyping skills. Each project should be developed out of
a clear design agenda and pull from the software that best achieves these goals. You must be
proactive and find the tools that can achieve your designs rather than simply showing off a
specific technology. During the course we will be introducing you to many of the tools you will
need, as well how to find many more.
Students will need to draw on their previous design skills and experience and augment them
with new digital tools to develop innovative new prototypes. After an introductory project all
work will be developed collaboratively within a group, and each student will develop the skills
that enable groups to produce creative concepts.
About the studio leaders
Kate Hartman is an artist, technologist, and educator whose work spans the fields of physical
computing, wearable electronics, and conceptual art. She is the co-creator of Botanicalls, a
system that lets thirsty plants place phone calls for human help, and the Lilypad XBee, a
sewable radio transceiver that allows your clothing to communicate. Her work has been
exhibited internationally and featured by the New York Times, BBC, CBC, NPR, in books such
as “Fashionable Technology” and “Art Science Now”. She was a speaker at TED 2011 and her
work is included in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
Nick Puckett is the founding director of AltN Research+Design, a design practice focused on
creating dynamic links between software, robotics, biological agents, chemical engineering, and
material behavior that generate new potentials for the design of intelligent environments. The
work of AltN Research has been exhibited in venues including the Venice Architecture Biennale,
International Biennial of Contemporary Art of Seville, and the Art Institute of Chicago. The work
has also been published in the books including Fabricate: Making Digital Architecture,
Hyperlinks, and the forthcoming Inside Smart Geometry. Nick has previously taught within
departments of architecture, design, chemical and electrical engineering, and computer science.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES AND OUTCOMES:
This course uses a hands-on approach to create a studio environment of exploration,
development, and testing. You will be enabled with new potential technologies and guided
through this development via working tutorial sessions.
Upon completion of this course, students will be able to:
1. Learn an iterative development methodology based on prototyping, testing, assessing, and
re-prototyping.
2. Understand and utilize the basic programming concepts, microcontrollers, sensors, and
actuators necessary to develop interactive designs.
3. Position their work contextually in relation to historical and contemporary examples within the
fields of art, design, and technology.
4. Assess and implement technologies necessary for taking a project idea from concept to
completion.
TEACHING METHODS AND DELIVERY:
Material in this course will be delivered through lectures, demonstrations, group discussions,
presentations, and critiques.
COURSE ASSIGNMENTS:
Task 1: Personal
Weeks 1-3
This introductory project gives students a chance to design and create an addition to their new
workspace. Working individually, you will prototype an interactive device that enhances, alters,
or corrupts your workspace. These two weeks will serve as a crash course into basic
programming and prototyping concepts for creating interactive objects.
At the end of Task 1 each student will give a live demo/presentation of their design and produce
a 30 second video posted on the course website.
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Day: Introduction to our work
Eve: Introduction to Project 1, Processing/Arduino Introduction
Day: project work and studio tutoring
Eve: Arduino working session
Day: project work and studio tutoring
Eve: Project 1 Review
Task 1 Technology Introductions
-Processing: www.processing.org
-Arduino: www.arduino.cc
-Sensors
-Actuators
Task 2: Social/
Environmental
Weeks 4-6
Working in groups, you will develop an interactive, multi-user environment. The environment
should create a new method of communication or collaboration between members of your
group. This task introduces methods for tracking the movement of people and alternative
methods of programming, and how they can be applied to the design of a space.
At the end of Task 2 each group will give a live demo/presentation of their design, produce a 30
second video posted on the course website, and a series of drawings/images that document the
development process.
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
Day: Project 1 recap
Eve: Introduction to Project2, Max/Msp for Hardware
Day: Project work and studio tutoring
Eve: Introduction to Kinect for Unity
Day: Project work and studio tutoring
Eve: Project 2 Review
Task 2 Technology Introductions
-Max/Msp: www.cycling74.com
-Unity Game Engine: www.unity3d.com
-Motion Capture and Skeleton Tracking using Kinect: http://www.xbox.com/en-US/kinect
-Laser Cutting
Task 3: Beyond
Weeks 7-10
The final project extends your design’s reach by developing connections that explore how
objects, places, and people can be linked digitally using both local wireless connections and
Internet protocols. Each group will design a communication network of objects that leverages
local conditions with streams of data input and output.
At the end of Task 3 each group will give a live demo/presentation of their design, produce a 30
second video posted on the course website, and a series of drawings/images that document the
development process.
Week 7
Week 8
Week 9
Week 10
Day: Project 2 recap
Eve: Introduction to Project3, Wireless / Xbee
Day: Project work and studio tutoring
Eve: 3d printing
Day: Project work and studio tutoring
Eve: Intro to web APIs
Day: Project work and studio tutoring
Eve: Project 3 Review
Task 3 Technology Introductions
-Wireless data communication
-Internet connection
-3d printing
Documenting your work
For all projects you must document (with writing, photographs, videos, drawings, schematics,
code examples) your process, discoveries, challenges, and details that would be interesting or
useful to your classmates, professors, and future students in this course. Documentation will be
posted on the class blog. Also, when appropriate please bring circuits, prototypes, or other
physical artifacts to class.
EQUIPMENT THAT YOU WILL NEED:
-wire cutters
-wire strippers
-soldering iron
-tools / materials for quick prototyping: cutting knife, scissors, rulers, paper, card, fabric, etc.
EVALUATION CRITERIA:
While tasks, tutorials, and exercises will be recommended, grades for this course will be based
on resulting projects. Projects will be focused on three scopes: Personal, Social/Environmental,
and Beyond. New tools and technologies will be introduced for each project. Projects can take
the form of an art installation, design prototype, or technical exploration. Ideas will be discussed
and critiqued in class and projects will be presented at the project critique.
Project
Due
Date
Presentation
deliverables
Weight Type
Focus
Task 1:
Personal
Week
3
Live demo of the device. 30
second explanation video
posted to course website.
20%
Individual
Create a device or
interface that enhances
the way you use or
inhabit your
workspace.
Task 2:
Social/
Environmental
Week
6
Live demo of the device. 30
second explanation video
posted to course website.
Supporting drawings,
images, and diagrams
documenting the process of
development.
30%
Group
Create a space that
facilitates new types of
interaction and
collaboration.
Suggested site: DF
student workspace in
205 Richmond.
Task 3:
Beyond
Week
10
Live demo of the device. 30
second explanation video
posted to course website.
Supporting drawings,
images, and diagrams
documenting the process of
development.
40%
Group
Extend the space to
connect it digitally to
other places, people,
and things.
International sensor
network. Collaboration
on digital fabrication.
Documentation and publication of work on the course website comprises 10% of the overall
grade.
The evaluation criteria, all equally weighted, are:
1. Is the project engaging and based on a clear design concept?
2. Does it demonstrate your knowledge of technologies and concepts covered in this
course?
3. Quality of documentation / presentation
4. Does it work as intended?
GRADING SCHEME:
The following grades are used at the graduate level:
A+ 95-100
A 85-94
A - 80-84
B+ 75-79
B 70-74
C 60-69
F 0-59
P Pass (Summer Off-Campus Only)*
I Incomplete**
W Withdrawn without Academic Penalty
*A grade of P is not used in grade point average (GPA) calculations.
**Incomplete work must be completed no later than the end of the following term.
Please note that as per Section 5.3 of the Graduate Studies General Policies, students in
graduate programs are required to maintain a cumulative grade point average (CGPA) of at
least 75% (B+).
REQUIRED TEXTS
Igoe, Tom. Making Things Talk. Sebastopol, CA: O'Reilly, 2007. Print.
Margolis, Michael. Arduino Cookbook. Sebastopol, CA: O'Reilly, 2011. Print.
Menard, Michelle. Game Development with Unity. Boston, MA: Course Technology PTR, 2011
Noble, Joshua J. Programming Interactivity. Sebastopol, CA: O'Reilly, 2009. Print.
Shiffman, Daniel. Learning Processing: a Beginner's Guide to Programming Images, Animation,
and Interaction. Amsterdam: Morgan Kaufmann/Elsevier, 2008. Print.
RECOMMENDED READING:
Banzi, Massimo. Getting Started with Arduino. Sebastopol, CA: Make:, 2008. Print.
Borenstein, Greg. Making Things See. Sebastopol: O'Reilly, 2012. Print.
Platt, Charles. Make: Electronics: Learning by Discovery. Sebastopol, CA: O'Reilly, 2009. Print.
Reas, Casey, and Ben Fry. Getting Started with Processing. Sebastopol, CA: O'Reilly, 2010.
Print.
Reas, Casey, and Ben Fry. Processing: a Programming Handbook for Visual Designers and
Artists. Cambridge, MA: MIT, 2007. Print.
Roberts, Dustyn. Making Things Move: DIY Mechanisms for Inventors, Hobbyists, and Artists.
New York: McGraw-Hill, 2010. Print.
Scherz, Paul. Practical Electronics for Inventors. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2007. Print.
Watkins, Adam. Creating Games with Unity and Maya. Burlington, MA: Focal Press, 2011
REQUIRED RESOURCES:
A laptop is necessary for this course. Please bring your computer to class.
Students will be asked to purchase a custom Arduino electronics kit from Creatron (255 College
St.). Details coming soon!
LATE WORK
This is a graduate level course and it is anticipated that all presentations, projects, and papers
should be presented and handed in, in a timely manner, as per the course schedule. If for any
reason this is not possible, please anticipate and discuss the matter with your instructor.
Medical cases which present problems with deadlines require confirmation in writing from a
health care professional. Late work is normally subject to a 10% penalty per week, and will be
accepted solely by arrangement, and with the discretion of the instructor.
INCOMPLETE GRADES
An incomplete grade is considered when students encounter unexpected difficulty completing
course work within the semester. Students must discuss their situation with their instructor and
request an incomplete grade prior to the end of the semester. Incomplete grades are filed at the
discretion of the teaching faculty. Students with incomplete grades must complete all course
work no later than the end of the following term.
ATTENDANCE
The university requires that students attend classes on a regular basis and that they participate
fully in them.
RELIGIOUS OBLIGATION
A student who foresees a conflict between a religious obligation and any scheduled class
assignments, including the final examination or critique, must notify his/her instructor in writing
and in the case of final examinations and critiques must make a written request to the Office of
Graduate Studies within three weeks of the first class.
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY
Students may not re-submit previously graded work without permission, or submit work
produced for other courses for evaluation. Plagiarism, misrepresenting personal performance or
status and/or any conduct which damages the integrity of scholarly and artistic activity is
unacceptable. Academic penalties will result. See the OCAD U Academic Calendar for details.
Academic freedom is a fundamental right in any institution of higher learning. Honesty and
integrity are necessary preconditions of this freedom. Academic integrity requires that all
academic work be wholly the product of an identified individual or individuals. Ethical conduct is
the obligation of every member of the University community and breaches of academic integrity
constitute serious offences.
RESEARCH INVOLVING HUMAN PARTICIPANTS
Graduate students who conduct research that involves human participants may require the
approval of the OCAD Research Ethics Board prior to the initiation of any such research. For
more information on research involving human participants, please visit the OCAD U website at:
www.ocad.ca/research/research_ethics_board.htm
DISCLAIMER STATEMENT
The syllabus, schedule, and course outline may be amended, altered, or changed as the course
proceeds. The weekly schedule is open and will be developed in response to the ongoing
concerns of the participants. Guest speakers and student presentations will be organized as the
term progresses. The class will be notified and when possible, consulted about developments
and changes.