Upon reflection, this past week in class was my favorite thus far because of the Fab Lab experience. This was our 1st week being able to experience the Fab Lab on campus. The Fab Lab is a rapid prototyping area, that can assist in creating a programed prototype. Part of our first day of training at the Fab Lab was being taught how to program the Arduino controller. As we learned the Arduino is a digital input and output micro controller. What you are able to do with it is program it with pins for example to have a certain response with “if then statements” that you code into its programing. For example, one project we learned how to program with the Arduino, was a light sensitivity measure. By setting certain inputs connected to the Arduino microprocessor, we were able to cause certain lights to light up depending on how dark it was around the sensor.
Furthermore, even though our project will likely not have a light sensor, the point is we can use the Arduino to program any “if than statement” or cause and effect we want. I particularly enjoyed this part of the project as I have tried working with the Arduino unit in a previous work experience. At the time I was creating a device that could go into a golf hole and once a ball hit it would trigger an MP3 sound to come on. At the time I learned a lot about how Arduino’s work, however I could not figure out the device to its full capacity. The Fab Lab staff taught us the insides and out of this powerful device, which was quite helpful especially in regards to our final solution for the device we create. Although my team is still working on a final solution, experiencing the Fab Lab and learning from the staff on the concept of “the internet of things” was particularly intriguing. The idea of the “internet of things” is that every day common devices will be connected to the internet by sensors and all sorts of different devices changing the way we receive information and interact with objects in our daily lives. What ever solution our group comes up with I feel should be framed with knowing the power of the Arduino and future of the “internet of things” in mind.
Lastly, here is a link to the site called Sparkfun that I bought my own Arduino Uno. The site is extremely helpful in showing the feature of each device, how to use it, and has a call support center. There staff is extremely helpful, and simply want the devices on there to be used to benefit any idea or project you have. Obviously an ideal fit as our class moves into the 1st stages of prototyping!