Class page for IDM NYU DM-UY 4913 J Fall 2024
Syllabus Weekly Schedule Assignments & Projects Resources Cheat Sheet
You must have a website to share your work in this class. I don’t care if it is a blog, flat html page, or a text file you update, but it must be accessable to me. You should use this journal as an opportunity to write clear, concise thoughts or questions based on the weekly topics. The writing is expected to be well reasoned, grammatically correct, and written as if it were a paper being turned in. You should link to any relevant sources, and provide as much context as you can using images, video, audio, or other relevant forms of expression.
Every week, you’ll have a short project due. This will build off the work we do in class together. It is a way for you to apply what you learn in class to something inventive on your own. Details of the weekly assignment will be provided in class. You are expected to document your project with schematics/illustrations/photos/video/audio/etc as applicable, and do a short write up that explains what you did and why you did it. You are also expected to bring this in to class the following week. Each class begins with what is effectively a ‘show-and-tell’ of the work you did. If you can’t bring in what you made, be prepared to show the documentation you created.
Occassionally, you’ll also be asked to reflect on the readings. The expectation is that these will be short, no more than a paragraph or two (unless you really want to go for it, in which case- please do!).
Each of you will be responsible for doing a brief 10 minute presentation (5 minutes of talking and 5 minutes of discussion). Presentations will need to be on a sensor or chip or technique for workig with electronics that you find interesting. Use it in an applicaion/demo.
Write up a brief description on your site before your presentation. This doesn’t need to be very long, but it should have links, video, images, etc. and give a reader a genral sense of what you are discussing. Please ask questions if you are unsure of anything.
Your midterm project is a group project. You will work in pairs. You need to build a physically interactive system that has some sort of physical input and output. The colloquial name for this is “Stupid Pet Trick”. Your project should show that you understand digital input and output,analog input and output, and good physical interaction design principles. This shoukd also be enjoyable, funny, or engaging. There are a number of different ways this project can be approached, we will discuss it in class. You will have 2 weeks to build this, but each week in the process you are expected to show steady progress in its completion. While only one member of a group needs to write about the project in their class blog, the other needs to link to the post from their site. You will present these in class, they should be functional and usable by other members of the class when you present the project. Hide the wires and breadboard and electronics as much as possible inside an enclosure, you want this to be presentable. Document your work well. If your presentation fails in class, you should still be able to show a working project through clear video documentation.
For your final, you are to demonstrate a fully physically interactive system that keeps a user engaged. You may work on your own or in groups of 2 for this project. You are expected to keep notes every week as you progress.
You should be able to draw on the skills we covered in class and show off what you can do. This includes but is not limited to serial communication between a computer and a microcontroller, bluetooth communication, physical interaction design (is the interface understandanle, can anyone use this, is there a mapping between the interfavce and the system, is it repeatable, etc etc ),and physical construction (are the wires and electonics hidden from view, does it collapse when it is used).
You will have milestones each week to document and describe.
Document your work thoroughly online as you go. Include details of all phases of the project.
Various project ideas