Week

date 

topic

Assignment/ additional material

I

Jan 14

Introduction and course mechanics.

Assignment: A blog entry needs to be entered every week by Friday. Content of blog should reflect both work you have been doing and relate to all of the readings (movies, websites, articles etc').

• Set up a blog [PDF].

• Install Scratch offline editor (beta version 2.0)

• Scratch tutorials: http://scratch.mit.edu/projects/editor/?tip_bar=getStarted, You Tube, and elsewhere on the WWW (e.g. http://www.funlearning.de/<-click on English, http://nward.com/ict/scratch/default.htm, or http://www.hairbychas.com/scratch/home.html ).

1st Scratch project (due Thu, Jan 23rd) [PDF]

Assignment (Comment on it in your blog, Jan. 17th): watch the whole of Randy Pausch's (last) seminar at Carnegie Mellon: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji5_MqicxSo. 

Read about programming including its history at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_programming

Jan 16

Begin programming with Scratch.

II

Jan 21

Scratch

Jan 23

Presentations of 1st Scratch projet.

Watch 5min about programming: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmM_xDzy2nU AND watch either the whole of Ken Robinson's talk about changing paradigm in education: http://www.thersa.org/events/vision/archive/sir-ken-robinson or its short, cartoon version at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDZFcDGpL4U). Comment on it in your blog (due Jan 26th).  

2nd Scratch project (due Tue, Feb 4th) [PDF]

III

Jan 28

Scratch

Blog assignment (due in Feb 3rd blog): watch and comment on Gallo's TED talks @ http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/david_gallo_on_life_in_the_deep_oceans.html

http://www.ted.com/talks/david_gallo_shows_underwater_astonishments.html

Jan 30

IV

Feb 4

Scratch/sensor

2nd programming presentations. Starting to work with sensors.

Choose a sensor to build in sensor unit (so we can insure supplies are available).

Reading for Feb. 11th: Ch. 1 & 2 of Physical Computing or first few tutorials at: http://itp.nyu.edu/physcomp/Tutorials/Tutorials). 1st sensor project (due, at the latest, by Thu. Feb. 13) [PDF]

Some background material on basic electronic: http://itp.nyu.edu/physcomp/Labs/Electronics,

See also: http://www.owlnet.rice.edu/~elec201/Book/basic_elec.html.

If you have never worked with circuits consider building circuits with the Elenco snap circuits we have in the lab.

Feb 6

 Blog assignment (due Feb 10th): watch Bonnie Bassler's TED talk @ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVfmUfr8VPA

V

Feb 11

Sensor

Feb 13

1st sensor due.

Start working with Arduino. For a great comic-book introduction see here [PDF].

or read and do as suggested in p. 1-50 of Banzi's 'Getting started with Arduino'. consult http://arduino.cc/en/Guide/HomePage

Blog assignment (due Feb 10th): watch John Delaney's TED talk @ http://www.ted.com/talks/john_delaney_wiring_an_interactive_ocean.html

VI

Feb 18

Programmable Sensor

2nd sensor project (due, at the latest, by Thu. Feb. 27) [PDF]

Feb 20

Assignment (due Feb. 23):  Tyack on underwater sounds and mammals @ http://www.ted.com/talks/peter_tyack_the_intriguing_sound_of_marine_mammals.html

and watch Massimo 's TED talk on Arduino @ http://www.ted.com/talks/massimo_banzi_how_arduino_is_open_sourcing_imagination.html

VII

Feb 25

 Programmable Sensor

Feb 27

Watch Mike Degruy's TED talk (Due March 2nd) @ http://www.ted.com/talks/mike_degruy_hooked_by_octopus.html

2nd sensor project due.

---------------March 3- March 14 spring break-------------

VIII

Mar 18

Robotics - tutorial

The Robotics module is different from the previous two in that there are no deadlines except for the end of the semester to accomplish the robotic assignments (weekly blogs and viewing/reading are still expected!), list:

For 3/23: watch some exciting new robots by Boston dynamics

For 3/30: watch some exciting science news on the big bang and a very interestiing article on education

For 4/6: watch documentary series exploring how robots affect the economy @http://www.marketplace.org/robots-ate-my-job

For 4/13:  Norris on inventions and Narayanan on speech/technology@

http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/woody_norris_invents_amazing_things.html

https://www.ted.com/talks/ajit_narayanan_a_word_game_to_communicate_in_any_language

For 4/20:  Learn about openROV @ http://openrov.com/. In particular write about how you would use it if you had access to it.

For 4/27:  Learn about innovation and creativity @ https://www.ted.com/talks/jay_silver_hack_a_banana_make_a_keyboard.

Final blog (due May 4): In addition to summarizing the week, please answer on your final blog the following three questions (based on your experience this semester):

1: How could the class 'Engineering literacy for the 21st century' change for the better for future students?

2. What other skills/knowledge-base could you see being taught in a similar format?

3. Did you find the web talks to enhance or detract from your experience with the class?

The Robotics module includes several assignments:

1. Tutorial - learn how to build and program the robot and associated sensors [PDF]. An other tutorial + two in YouTube (part1, part2) + one from Oregon

2. Missions - perform successfully 3 missions successfully out of the following 10.

First Robot challenge - Pop Bot [PDF]   

2nd Robot challenge - Table Bot [PDF]

3rd Robot challenge - Robo line runner [PDF].

4th Robot challenge - Pipe Bot [PDF]

5th robot challenge - Firefly [PDF]

6th robot challenge - Mazing [PDF]

7th robot challenge - Laps runner [PDF]

8th robot challenge - Mower [PDF]

9th robot challenge - Slalom [PDF]

10th robot challenge - Line follower [PDF]

Rubric for challenges: A-all is accomplished, B-two are accomplished and one attempted, C-two are accomplished, D-one is accomplished a second one attempted. E- one is accomplished. F-not done.

3. Build (including sodering if needed) a senosr that integrates to the robot and calibrate it. Requirments are the same as with the 1st sensor project (calibration, mistery substance/conditions, writeup).

You will need to use to install the Legacy Block Library I searched on Lego Legacy Block and went to the following site: http://mindstorms.lego.com/en-us/support/files/default.aspx#Patches On the left side click to select "Patches", then scroll to the right to the " Legacy Block - English".  Download and unzip. In Mindstorms software, go to "Tools", then "Block Import", then brows to the legacy block folder and pick the old sensor you want.

To store data collected with a sensor see: http://www.teamhassenplug.org/NXT/DataLogging/Beginning_Datalogging.htm

4. Final project: build an AUV or ROV that will profile in the UMaine swimming pool down to 1yd depth taking data with an environmental sensor along the way.

Writeup of final project should include:

1. photo of AUV or ROV

2. calibration curve of sensor built+ uncertainty calculation

3. Time series of data collected.

4. Please reflect on the vehicle design choice and evolution as you built it. Now that you know more about it, would you do it differently next time?

Mar 20

IX

Mar 25

Robotics - tutorial / missions

Mar 27

X

Apr 1

Robotics - missions

Apr 3

XI

Apr 8

Robotics - missions/sensor

Apr 10

XII

Apr 15

Robotics - should start final project

Apr 17

XIII

Apr 22

Robotics -final project

Apr 24

XIV

Apr 29

Final robotics project presentations

May 1