physical_computing

Exploring Concepts From Soft Robotics +

Kari Love | Syllabus | ITPG-GT 2125 | Fri 12:20pm to 2:50pm in 370 Jay St, Room 411 Meetings:14
4 Point, awesome, Elective, fabrication,, Graduate, In-Person, inflatables, pcomp, physical computing, pneumatics, robotics, silicone casting, soft, soft robotics, softrobotics, Spring 2026
Last updated: October 31, 2025

Because the full potential of the emerging field of soft systems is unrealized, there are countless opportunities for curious innovators to discover or develop novel soft systems. Soft robotic skills and techniques also open up a world of possibilities for large scale or surprising artwork. This course teaches hands-on fabrication techniques for constructing simple pneumatic actuators from cast silicone and heat-sealed mylar, and challenges participants to design and build their own. Lectures and discussion center on concepts from soft innovation history, the current state-of-the-art, and sister disciplines of bio-inspired and hybrid (soft/hard) robotics. Consideration of both brand new soft materials, from a class visit to Material ConneXion library, and everyday overlooked soft mechanisms, found in average retail stores, will require participants to look at softness through a new lens. Final projects will be the development of an original soft/flexible/hybrid research or artistic concept presented with context, material swatches with justifications for choices, and physical or modeled proof-of-concept.

About Kari Love: http://www.karimakes.com

Energy +

Jeffrey Feddersen | Syllabus | ITPG-GT 2466 | Mon 3:20pm to 5:50pm in 370 Jay St, Room 413 Meetings:14
4 Point, battery, capacitor, Elective, energy, energy production, energy storage, Graduate, In-Person, kinetic energy, physical computing, solar power, Spring 2026
Last updated: October 31, 2025

From the most ephemeral thought to the rise and fall of civilizations, every aspect of your life, and indeed the universe, involves energy. Energy has been called the “universal currency” by prolific science author Vaclav Smil, but also “a very subtle concept… very, very difficult to get right” by Noble physicist Richard Feynman. It is precisely this combination of importance and subtlety that motivates the Energy class. Maybe you fear the existential threat of anthropogenic climate change, or maybe you just want your physical computing projects to work better. Either way, the class will help you understand energy quantitatively and intuitively, and incorporate that knowledge in your projects (and perhaps your life).

How? Building on skills introduced in Creative Computing, we will generate and measure electricity in order to see and feel energy in its various forms. We will turn kinetic and solar energy into electrical energy, store that in batteries and capacitors, and use it to power projects. We will develop knowledge useful in a variety of areas, from citizen-science to art installations, and address topics such as climate change and infrastructure access through the lens of energy. Students will build a final project using skills learned in the class.

Prerequisites: Creative Computing

Instructor Jeffrey Feddersen Website: www.fddrsn.net/

Electronics for Inventors +

Pedro Galvao Cesar de Oliveira | Syllabus | ITPG-GT 2036 | Thur 2:50pm to 5:50pm in 370 Jay Street Room 450 Meetings:S-Special
4 Point, analog circuits, circuitry, circuits, digital circuits, Elective, electronics, engineering, Graduate, hardware, In-Person, physical_computing, skills, Spring 2026, tangible
Last updated: October 31, 2025

Today we are no longer solely connected to the digital world through computers. The result of this push to connect the digital and the analog world is the increasing necessity for low cost, low power, and self-contained electronics.

This course is an applications-driven intro to electronics for inventors. Through a hands-on approach, students will learn basic concepts about analog circuits, Boolean logic, digital devices interfaces, and low-cost code-free electronics.

Topics will include basic principles of electricity, as well as an understanding of electronics components such as resistors, capacitors, diodes, transistors, audio amplifiers, and timers. Students will also learn what it takes to build an arduino-like microcontroller.

This class will use as a backbone the book “Practical Electronics for Inventors – 4th Edition” by Paul Scherz and Simon Monk.

Format: Lectures + In-class LABs + Readings

Haptics +

Kate Hartman | ITPG-GT 2457 | Sat 12:20pm to 6:35pm in 370 Jay Street Room 450>Sun 12:20pm to 6:35pm in 370 Jay Street Room 450 Meetings:S-Special
1 Point, Elective, Graduate, haptics, hardware, physical computing, Spring 2026, Sunday, vibration
Last updated: October 31, 2025

From the crass rattle of early pager motors to the sophisticated clicks and purrs of the iPhone Taptic engine, the ability to buzz has increasingly worked its way into our devices. This course focuses on physical prototyping and interaction design for non-visual feedback. Specifically, it will explore how haptic feedback can be utilized and integrated into handhelds, wearables, objects, and environments – anything that we touch or that touches us. Traditional tools such as eccentric rotating mass (ERM) motors, linear resonance actuators (LRAs), and haptic motor drivers will be introduced as well as less conventional methods such as gentle poking, prodding, warming, cooling, squeezing, and tickling. Through hands-on experimentation and a review of research to date, students will emerge from this course well-positioned to incorporate haptic feedback into their future projects. Note: This course is designed for students who have previous experience with physical computing and Arduino.