Programming Media II. 152B/252B
Spring 2008
U.C.L.A. Department of Design | Media Arts

Professor C.E.B. Reas
TA Michael Kontopoulos

Monday & Wednesday, MW 14:00 - 16:50
Broad Art Center, 4250

Content

This course is an introduction to electronics within the context of the arts. Each student will gain basic understanding of electronics concepts and materials and will apply these to a series of exercises and a final project. It also focuses on understanding interactivity and connectivity within physical environments. We will explore this from both a conceptual and material perspective. Understanding interaction is a tacit knowledge and we will therefore learn the most through building and testing artifacts and spaces. Each student has the opportunity to construct physical and digital devices and to build the software that gives them behavior. Additionally, project documentation and promotion skills will be practiced. The first third of the class will be taught like a workshop, with demonstrations and time to work in the studio. There are two exercises that build on this work. The rest of the class is spent working on a larger project, with individual and group components.


Evaluation

Feedback will be primarily qualitative but numeric scores will also be given for all work. The numeric breakdown for your grade follows:

10% Exercise 1
10% Exercise 2
70% Final project
10% Participation (contribution / concentration during class)

More than two absences without the Professor's prior permission will lower the participants final grade by one unit (i.e. an A will become an B). With each additional unexcused absence, the grade will drop an additional unit. All exercises and projects must be completed to pass the course.


Required Reading

Dan O'Sullivan and Tom Igoe. Physical Computing: Sensing and Controlling the Physical World with Computers. Thomson Course Technology, 2004

Barragan, Hernando and Casey Reas. "Electronics" in Processing: a Programming Handbook for Visual Designers and Artists. MIT Press, 2007


Lab Notes

Lab 1 : Electricity and Components
Lab 2 : Transistors and ICs
Lab 3 : Microcontrollers
Lab 4 : Motors and Mechanisms
Notes on the Final Project

The Notes from the Class Labs, including readings and page numbers.

Recommended Reading

Igoe, Tom. Making Things Talk: Practical Methods for Connecting Physical Objects. Make Books, 2007

McCullough, Malcolm. Digital Ground: Architecture, Pervasive Computing, and Environmental Knowing. MIT Press, 2004

Petzold, Charles. Code: The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software. Microsoft Press, 2000

Bourriaud, Nicolas. Relational Aesthetics. Les presses du réel, 1998 (English translation 2002)

Scherz, Paul. Practical Electronics for Inventors. Second Edition. McGraw Hill, 2007


Net Resources

http://www.arduino.cc/
http://www.arduino.cc/playground/
http://tigoe.net/pcomp/

http://blog.makezine.com/
http://www.instructables.com/

http://www.pixelsumo.com/view-all/
http://www.interactivearchitecture.org/
http://www.generatorx.no/

http://del.icio.us/REAS/Arduino
http://del.icio.us/REAS/Electrolab
http://del.icio.us/REAS/Electronics


Required Materials

2+ Solderless breadboards
1+ Arduino USB board
1 USB cable (the kind for printers)
1 Transformer (12V, 1000mA, 2.1 mm female plug, center positive)

Additional components will be required depending on your projects. The Arduino board can be purchased at Sparkfun.com or The Maker Store and the others at either Jameco or take a short drive to All Electronics.


Recommended Materials

1 Digital Multimeter (e.g. Velleman DVM850BL from All Electronics)
1 Wire cutter