2008 Sensor Workshop Schedule and Syllabus

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Schedule
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Each day of this week long workshop is divided into morning lecture/demonstrations and afternoon labs.
During the labs various optional "breakout" sessions and projects will be offered for small groups of students. The schedule reflects a proposed time for these. Duplicate breakouts will be offered as needed. Participants are welcome to offer their own breakout sessions.
For an overview of the week click here: http://cnmat.berkeley.edu/calendar/group/4579/2008/7
View details for each day starting on monday: http://cnmat.berkeley.edu/calendar/group/4579/2008/07/21

Syllabus
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This workshop offers a hands-on survey of sensors, sensor interfaces and integration software and hardware for use in musical performance, dance, video, sound and art installations. We will learn how to employ fiber and malleable materials to escape from the metal and plastic boxy form factors that pervade the thinking and interaction devices currently availabe. We will also critically evaluate the wearables focus of these new materials and use them at unusually large and small dimensions to expand interaction opportunities. Lectures and demonstrations will help students establish evaluative criteria to guide their explorations.

An important goal of these guided explorations is to expose strengths and weaknessess of devices and systems and establish the fruitful design-patterns you can use to develop your own projects.

We will adapt already-integrated sensor systems for artistic purposes including:

+ Wacom digitizing tablets
+ Wii gaming controllers
+ Joystick and Gamepads
+ 3D navigation devices
+ P5 power glove
+ USB HID devices
+ iPhone
+ Behringer motorized faders
+ Webcams

We will review old "new" controller systems such as Buchla Thunder, Lightning, Marimba Lumina, MIDI keyboards; new "new" controllers such as the Stribe. Lemur and Monome; and create truly new "new" controllers using some of latest ideas, techniques and prototypes being presented at NIME 2008 and ICMC 2008 by CNMAT researchers.

We will explore device-level integrated sensors including:

+ resistive
+ position
+ distance
+ inertial
+ capacitive
+ RF
+ ultrasound
+ magnetic
+ optical

We will build our own sensors from raw materials including conductive fabric, piezoresistive fabric, conductive elastomers, conductive thread, carbon fiber, conductive heat-shrink tubing.

We will explore the major established and emerging sensor integration hardware platforms:

* Make Controller Kit
* Arduino (Freeduino, Lilypad, Orangutan, Boarduini, RBBA etc.)
* uOSC USB PIC: CUI, Bitwacker, Olimex etc.
* Sunspot

We will explore data representations and protocols for sensor and control data including MIDI and HID with focus on OSC (Open Sound Control).

We will use the Open Sound Control (OSC) protocol as glue between sensor data and synthesis patches in the major media programming platforms including Max/MSP/Jitter and PD. Sample programs fo will be provided to test and calibrate the sensor projects and contextualize them in viable artistic contexts. As well is image and sound synthesis we will also explore the primary motion synthesis devices: stepping motors, servos and solonoids.