--- title: The Machine Paradox page_type: course track: Instrumentation course_type: Workshop | Seminar feature_img: /assets/images/2023-24/year-1/t-1/the-machine-paradox.png img_caption: Unpacking intelligent machines 19/20 faculty: - santiago-fuentemilla - guillem-camprodon - oscar-gonzalez - josep-marti - petra-garajova - adai-surinach - mikel-llobera ects: 5 --- {{ insert_banner() }} ## Syllabus We spend our lives interacting with objects and interfaces who’s underlying technology we hardly understand not merely due to their complexity but also because they were intended to be closed by design.Through the idea of hacking, we will explore the internal components building everyday objects, from coffee machines to wi-fi networks, while learning how to use open software and hardware tools to change the way they work and interface with the world. Is a practical and intensive two-weeks experimental program into fabrication, physical computing and introduction to the Fab Lab environment. It has been designed to fill knowledge gaps and aimed to prepare students to succeed and improve their experience for rapid prototyping. We will offer an impact experience, seeking to inspire and motivate the participants to use the possibilities of digital manufacturing and technologies to prototype, design, fabricate and program an “honest” mechanical artifact. **Keywords: Documentation, Tinkering, Design, Prototyping, Digital Fabrication** ### Learning Objectives Our active learning methodology is based on the practice and spiral development, designed to encourage the creativity and imagination of the participants, as well as stimulate the search for tools and solutions for their correct definition. **Instrumentation** - Rapid prototyping - Physical computing **Exploration** - Design maker workflows - Navigate through the uncertainty **Reflection** - Critical thinking about technologies - Redesign new systems **Application** - Maker skills - Hack systems ### Methodological Strategies - Attendance - Team participation - Knowledge exchange - Learning goals - Self evaluation - Critical reflection ### Materials Needs All materials needed for the course will be provided by the faculty. The students are required to bring to the classes their own students toolkit and the programming boards given to them at the start of the academic year, other development boards, sensors and actuators will be provided during the workshop. Bring in your laptop and any prototyping tools you have around such as a cutter, tape, markers, screwdrivers... Do you have any old appliances (radios, toys, telephones, lamps, screens, keyboards...) at home you would like to take apart? Bring them, too! (For safety reasons, avoid choosing appliances with a lot of power or that are easily heated). ## Schedule The course duration is a total of 32 hours of guided workshop time, spanned along two weeks. The guided workshop time will happen Tuesday to Friday and the students are committed to work during the afternoon in the projects on a self-guided methodology. **Classes:** from 10:00 to 14:00 - Hands-on sessions guided by instructors **Group work:** - Non-guided sessions where students work on a task independently or in groups === "17/10" **Tuesday**: Presentation & Unpacking (I know what's inside) **Class:** from 10:00 to 14:00 === "18/10" **Wednesday**: Disassemble (I’m not afraid of exploring) **Class:** from 10:00 to 14:00 === "19/10" **Thursday**: Forensic (I know what I have) **Class:** from 10:00 to 14:00 === "20/10" **Friday**: In-Control (I built something I trust) **Class:** from 10:00 to 14:00 === "24/10" **Tuesday**: What to do with these parts (Beta devices) **Class:** from 10:00 to 14:00 === "25/10" **Wednesday**: Integration of artifacts (I build something that works) **Class:** from 10:00 to 14:00 **Group work:** from 15:00 to 18:00 === "26/10" **Thursday**: Field visit & recordings during the afternoon **Group work:** from 10:00 to 14:00 **Group work:** from 15:00 to 18:00 === "27/10" **Friday**: Final Presentations(I have a final machine) ![](/assets/images/2023-24/year-1/t-1/the-machine-paradox-schedule.jpeg) ## Deliverables ![](/assets/images/2023-24/year-1/t-1/the-machine-paradox-deliverables.png) Students are requested to submit all the material requested by the faculty + their reflections about the seminar on their personal blog on the [MDEF repository](https://mdef.fablabbcn.org/2023-24/students/) on GitHub within a maximum of 1 week after the students’ submission deadline. **In addition, videos and presentations must be submitted in the Submission folder within the seminar's Google Drive folder, which we share with you.** - Write a post out your weekly experience (personal MDEF webpage) - Deliver the forensic report completely filled - Reflect your learning goals and possible applications of the technology learned - Add link to the exploration tools and files you produced and used in your repo - Video and Slide - Forensic report ### Video - Video at minimun 1080p stabilized (not hand held recordings, use a tripod if you don't know how to stabilize with software) - **BETWEEN 30SEC TO 1MIN** - Open source music matching the artifacts (properly acknowledged). - Ideally, the sound produced by the machine will also be recorded in the video. - Entry and finish titles with team names, name of the artifact and Iaac/FablabBCN. ### Slides - Design process (how did you ideate) - What it is supposed to do or not do - Ideas or concept in the context - How is it made (Materials, parts) - System diagram (illustration explaining function, parts, and relations) - The coding Logic (Algorithms and flowcharts, pseudocoding) - Photographies - Iteration Process - Learning by Accomplishments and failure ## Grading Method !!! info "" :fontawesome-solid-circle-info:{ .icon-padding-right } **Grading criteria will be defined by faculty during the module.** !!! ects "European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS)" {{ ects }} ECTS ## Course Resources - [Hackmd Documentation](https://hackmd.io/@fablabbcn/theparadoxmachine) - Collection of presentations, links and reources for the course. - [Miro Board](https://miro.com/app/board/uXjVNaaI5lo=/?share_link_id=211542821117) - [Main Presentation](https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/12z48dSxuSXtdz_SZrQg6c65z50ptIDCCSUzh9GiSNIw/edit?usp=sharing) - [TAUMS Showcase](https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/15KO0wCPPbD59EVw_6xRo_4ZkEceN0HR65-qRN1_MxBE/edit?usp=sharing) ## Additional Resources ### Bibliography and Background Research Material **They are ordered from shorter to longer so you can start with a short reading essay in your busy schedule** Some of the books can be found online for free, use google and [archive.org](http://archive.org) **Getting Started with Arduino**, Banzi, Massimo. Maker Media, Inc, 2008 (ISBN 9780596155513) 128 pages. **Fifty Dangerous Things (You Should Let Your Children Do)**, Tulley, Gever. Tinkering Unlimited, 2009 (ISBN 9780984296101) 130 pages. **The Design of Everyday Things**, Norman, Donald A. Basic Books, 1988 (ISBN 9780465067107) 240 pages. **The Hacker Ethic: and the Spirit of the Information Age**, Himanen, Pekka. Random House, 1999 (ISBN 9780375505669) 256 pages. **Hacking Electronics: An Illustrated DIY Guide for Makers and Hobbyists: An Illustrated DIY Guide for Makers and Hobbyists**, Monk, Simon. McGraw-Hill/Tab Electronics, 2012 (ISBN 9780071802369) 304 pages. **Designing Reality: How to Survive and Thrive in the Third Digital Revolution**, Gershenfeld, Neil. Basic Books, 2017 (ISBN 9780465093472) 304 pages. **How to Diagnose and Fix Everything Electronic**, Geier, Michael Jay. McGraw-Hill/Tab Electronics, 2010 (ISBN 9780071744225) 316 pages. **Technology Choice: A Critique of the Appropriate Technology Movement**, Willoughby, Kelvin. Intermediate Technology Publications, 1990 (ISBN 9781853390579) 368 pages. **Make It So: Interaction Design Lessons From Science Fiction**, Shedroff, Nathan. Rosenfeld Media, 2012 (ISBN 9781933820989) 368 pages. **Building Open Source Hardware: DIY Manufacturing for Hackers and Makers**, Gibb, Alicia. Addison-Wesley Professional, 2014 (ISBN 9780133373905) 368 pages. **The Master Switch: The Rise and Fall of Information Empires**, Wu, Tim. Knopf, 2010 (ISBN 9780307269935) 384 pages. Dieter Rams: As Little Design as Possible, Lovell, Sophie. Phaidon, 2010 (ISBN ) 398 pages. **To Save Everything, Click Here: The Folly of Technological Solutionism**, Morozov, Evgeny. PublicAffairs, 2013 (ISBN 9781610391382) 415 pages. **Adventures in the Anthropocene: A Journey to the Heart of the Planet we Made**, Vince, Gaia. Vintage, 2014 (ISBN 9780099572497) 448 pages. **Designing for Emerging Technologies: UX for Genomics, Robotics, and the Internet of Things**, Follett, Jonathan. O’Reilly Media, 2014 (ISBN ) 504 pages. **The Innovators: How a Group of Hackers, Geniuses and Geeks Created the Digital Revolution**, Isaacson, Walter. Simon and Schuster, 2014 (ISBN 9781476708690) 542 pages. **Designing Interactions [With CDROM]**, Moggridge, Bill. MIT Press (MA), 2006 (ISBN 9780262134743) 766 pages. ### Sites - [hackaday.com](https://hackaday.com/) is one of the best blogs on DIY inventions and hardware hacking - [lowtechmagazine.com](https://www.lowtechmagazine.com/) many technology choices are political and economic, looking at past forgotten technologies helps us see the future - [news.ycombinator.com](https://news.ycombinator.com/) is a social news website focusing on computer science and entrepreneurship. - [archive.fabacademy.org](http://archive.fabacademy.org/) 10 years of project from Fab Labs around the world. Sometimes hard to browse but inspiring! - [learn.adafruit.com](https://learn.adafruit.com/) a really good site for electronics and programming tutorials, especially for beginners - [instructables](https://learn.adafruit.com/) more and more DIY tutorials, sometimes aren’t good but there’s a lot ## Faculty {{ insert_faculty() }}