Course Syllabus

A considerable amount of research has been done in the domain of Tangible User Interfaces, an approach to HCI which focuses on the physical interaction with computational media. However, it has been difficult to define what tangible user interfaces are, and come to a systematic understanding of possible approaches in designing and evaluating tangible user interfaces. This course will explore the theoretical framework of tangible user interfaces through a series of design examples to compare and contrast. Students will also design and develop experimental tangible user interfaces using physical computing prototyping tools.

The class meets 3 hours per week, 10:30am - 12:00pm on Mondays and Wednesdays. An additional lab hour on Wednesdays 3:00pm - 4:00pm is provided for students to expand their basic lab exercises. On Mondays, there will be lectures and discussions based on our readings. On Wednesdays, we will do hands-on physical computing exercises with Arduino prototyping boards and various sensors and actuators. There are no prerequisites for the class. While no experience working with electronics is required, basic knowledge in and willingness to learn programming is assumed.

Meeting Time and Place

Monday & Wednesday 10:30am - 12:00pm, 202 South Hall
Additional lab hour: Wednesday 3:00pm - 4:00pm, 202 South Hall

Office Hours

• Kimiko Ryokai: Mondays 2pm - 3pm and by appointment

• Noura Howell: Wednesdays 12pm - 1pm in room 202 and by appointment

Lab equipment will be available for use during Noura's office hours.

Instructors

• Kimiko Ryokai (kimiko [at] berkeley.edu) (website)

• Noura Howell (noura [at] berkeley.edu) (website Links to an external site.)

Textbook

Physical Computing: Sensing and Controlling the Physical World with Computers by Tom Igoe and Dan O’Sullivan (2004). The book is available at the campus book store, online at Amazon, or on Berkeley's Oskicat library resource.

Course Lab Kit

The Wednesday curriculum, lab assignments, and homework are based on individual hands-on exercises with Arduino boards and electronic components. Therefore, it is necessary for each individual student to have his/her own lab kit. The lab kit will be available for purchase in class for $75.00.

The lab kit component list can be found here.

You have an option of buying these parts yourself, or purchase the lab kit for $75.00 from us during the first week of class.

Maker Pass

The Wednesday curriculum, lab assignment, homework, midterm project, and final project are based on hands-on making with Arduino boards and electronic components. Therefore, it is strongly encouraged for each individual student to get a Maker Pass for $75.00. Instructions here.

Useful Links

• Arduino website Links to an external site.

• Prototyping supplies, a list of local suppliers of prototyping supplies (page hosted by the BiD website)

• Adafruit website Links to an external site., electronics parts and tutorials
• Sparkfun website Links to an external site., electronics parts and tutorials
• Previous TUI website, where you can view previous student work and get inspired

Grading

The course will consist of the following graded components.

Weekly Lab In Class & Lab Homework (37%)

In-class lab projects will be graded based on completion and the amount of effort put in. We will provide both “beginner” and “advanced” options, and students are expected to strive for growth in their skill sets during the semester. Homework assignments will build on the lab projects. Students are expected to post descriptions, images, and source code of their assignments on the course website.

Reading Responses (13%)

Students will post short responses in which they reflect upon the assigned readings.

Midterm Project (10%)

Design a Tangible User Interface that takes advantage of your hands and body to manipulate digital information. Apply it to a topic of your research interest (e.g., tool for communication, learning/education, design, etc.). Your project may be based on a completely new design or redesign of familiar everyday objects.

The midterm project consists of these parts:

• 9/20 Form a group (maximum of 3 members) for your project and submit a 1-page proposal.

• 10/2 Progress sketches due.

• 10/9 & 10/16 In-class midterm project presentation. Present your slides and optional mockups.

Final Project (30%)

For the final project, it will be helfpful to reflect on your midterm project. You may expand your midterm project, or take a new approach to a Tangible User Interface. You may continue to work as a group (maximum of 3 members) or as an individual. If you work in a group, be clear about each member’s role in the project.

The final project will involve the ideation and implementation of a novel tangible user interface. It may be a continuation of the midterm project or based on a new idea. The focus on the project will be on the originality and quality of the idea more than on the extent of the implementation (although both are of course important). Project output will be the interface prototype itself (and an optional poster or handouts), which will be presented at an open house at the end of the semester. Additionally, students will be expected to write a short report on the project, including preliminary evaluation of their interface or an outline of what types of evaluation might be conducted in the future.

Final project entails these parts:

• 11/02 Finalize your group for project and post your proposal on the course website. Create a list of materials you need. (We may be able to help.)

• 11/13 & 11/15 In-class final project progress report and critique.

• 12/4 & 12/6 Final project exhibition. Present your prototype. Be prepared to discuss your design principles and design process. Your prototype is to demonstrate your original idea for a Tangible User Interface that takes advantage of your hands and body to manipulate digital information. Each student is required to attend both days of the exhibition, even if they did a team project.

• 12/15 Final write up due. It must be in the ACM HCI Paper Format (“CHI Proceedings Format”) and should be 4-6 pages in length, submitted in pdf format. The template is available in Word and Latex. Latex Links to an external site. is free and Word is free for UC Berkeley students.

Sample Papers:

• Designing a mobile user interface for automated species identification. Sean Michael White, Dominic Marino, Steven Feiner CHI ’07: Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems

• Rock-paper-fibers: bringing physical affordance to mobile touch devices. Frederik Rudeck, Patrick Baudisch CHI ’12: Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems

Participation (10%)

Students are expected to come to class, engage in discussion, and contribute to lab sessions. For the final project exhibition, there are two exhibition days, and each student is required to attend both exhibition days. If you need to miss class due to illness or emergency, please email both the professor and TA beforehand.