What is Interaction Design?

Interaction Design

Electronic mediation of human action has been established for several decades now. Today we find RFID tags, intelligent (networked) objects and ubiquitous computing joining the ranks of consumer electronics in a world where one would be hard pressed to find some event that does not involve cybernetics. But only during the past few years have we seen the emergence of tools, methods and resources that have given designers an essential role in the creative shaping of such experiences. This course will focus on electronics, circuit design, material fabrication and programming to build intelligent objects whose design concerns go far beyond aesthetics and functionality. Techniques using microcontrollers will allow student work to extend the mouse/keyboard/screen paradigm of computer based design, integrating a full range of human motion and other phenomena such as light, temperature, computer vision and mechatronics.