Midterm: Spring Break Entertainment Devices due Thursday, March 10th

Our midterm falls right before NYU's spring break recess, so in honor of the holiday, we will have a spring break party in pcomp class. At 9:30 in the morning. Your midterm projects will provide the entertainment for the party. Since fifteen people is not quite enough, we could use some robots to round out the guest list, especially if the robots can dance. Any good party needs music and lights, so think things that generate sound or control lighting, maybe even digital musical instruments. Finally, a party needs party favors - gadgets or games that other people at the party (other than the creator(s)) can pick up and play with.

February 17th - February 23rd:

Generate three or more initial concepts and choose one for the midterm. Create a parts list and functional outline for the final concept, mapping input, processing and output. Place orders for parts if necessary. Bring the concept, functional outline and parts list to class on the 24th.

February 24th - March 2nd:

Create the first breadboard version of project, substituting parts for those on order if necessary. If necessary, make revisions to functionality. Bring the functional breadboard prototype to class on the 3rd for demonstration.

March 3rd - March 9th:

Finalize the design: reimplement the breadboard prototype in a more permanent manner, add and integrate final hardware, test.

March 10th:

Presentation of finished projects.

Final Project TBA.

Past Projects:

Project 1: PComp fantasy project

You're not actually going to implement the first project; you have free reign to propose anything you want. However, you will be building a physical model of the device you're proposing, or creating a rendering/animation/video if your proposal is not a physical device.

Week 2: January 22 - February 2

Answer the who/what/where/when/why of your device. Who is the intended audience/user/beneficiary? What specifically does your device do? Where and when will it be used? Why is it necessary/important/fun?

Week 3 : February 3 - February 9

Create a mock-up of your proposal. This could be in the form of a foam-core model, a 3-D rendering, or any other means by which you can clearly bring your concept nearly into reality.