A Reflection Of My Digital Making Experience

Posted on May 7, 2017 by Charlene Chen

My learning experience throughout this course had gone beyond my expectations. Though we only had class once a week the Digital Making Seminar had impacted my thinking process and brought in a different perspective of the world. Now, I would like to describe my journey and the various learnings and knowledge I had picked up on the way.

The first two weeks were more of introductory classes, allowing all the students to have a better understanding of what we would be delving into. We immediately were given the hands on experience to create our own 3D printed object after given a quick tutorial. I had learned about various sites and chose to use Tinkercad to print out an Illinois keychain. During the class we learned about the large amount of resources (ex. FabLab) available on campus for making and creating.

During the third week of class, Vishal had brought in UIUC’s Design For America. I really enjoyed their presentation because it truly helped my group, BCC Creations get our creative juices flowing. I realized how naturally creative the human kind is, it is easy for anyone to have the ability to design products or services through the design thinking process in order to meet a consumers demand. The group had taught us through a hands-on activity to create a prototype that would benefit our customer group: senior citizens. We had brainstormed various products that would allow a senior citizen to be more at ease.

Our fourth week we met with Jeff Smith from Autodesk who was teaching us about Fusion 360, the software allowed designers to design products or services from what used to many hours to only a couple of minute. Each of the tools in Fusion 360 were incredibly powerful unlike other softwares. With the step-by-step tutorial given by Jeff, I was able to create my own version of a perfume bottle I had through Fusion 360 after the session,

By the fifth week of class I had learned about different websites and softwares that could be used for designing, now I was excited to see how this could be incorporated to my final project. We met with our groups to brainstorm needs people have on the daily and create “how can we” statements. Furthermore, we had to make sure the statements were broad enough to solve the need and we weren’t delving into finding the perfect product for the need.

Week six, seven and eight we were at the FabLab working on creating a blinky box through three steps: Inkscape/laser cutting, soldering, and coding, My group started out with learning how to use Inkscape, we were given a template of the press fit box, we learned to change the settings for the laser cutting and added designs to our boxes. Once our designs were done we laser cut them, it was an interesting experience and the laser cutter had to be carefully monitored. The next week I learned how to make the lights blink on the hardware through coding. It was an incredible experience and a great learning process for me as my core classes don’t touch computer science coding or work with hardware pieces. In the final class we learned how to solder, it was a new experience for me and I learned how soldering melted filler metal onto metal joined objects by creating an established thin layer. Overall, I had a strong understanding of how everything came together to create the box and learned how all the components could be used, which would come in handy for my final project.

During weeks nine, ten, eleven and twelve we focused on our project, we went through prototyping, researching, improvements, auditing and making final adjustments. Once we decided on creating our “cheap” alarm system we began the prototyping process. We researched on the components needed for the hardware as well as the software side. Then we drew up a diagram so we had a clear understanding of how the hardware would look, what the software would need to accomplish and the shape of the housing. We gathered our components from Vishal and the FabLab. Throughout the process we had challenges, we had received help from the FabLab on useful components and my friend, Alvin Wu (Electrical Engineering) to assist us with the coding and putting together the hardware. In the four weeks I had learned so much about the product we were creating, I learned how to use the Raspberry Pi, searching up code as well as the incorporation of them, how the components worked and starting up Twilio so we could send text messages to the user. Once we were done with the product we worked on the housing which was a bit difficult to make the adjustments as we started out using Fusion 360 and moved on to Tinkercad. We made several adjustments to our housing so all the components could fit inside. FInally, we began our testing process of how our consumers would use it, we added on an extra text message so users would know when the security system was on and once it turned on there would be 60 seconds before startup.

Prior to taking the Digital Making Seminar course I had heard great things about it, not only from Vishal during an advisor meeting but also from students who had taken the course or were about to take the course during the same semester. I was very excited to see where this class would take me, as I had no experience with 3D Printing and all the functions we learned throughout the course. Thus, coming in I had little expectations but I was ready to experience a different side of what IT could offer. Now, that I have reached the end of the course and reflected on my learnings and experience I can definitely say the course reached beyond my expectation. I had not expected to be able to learn so many different aspects on designing and was really amazed by all the results as well as support. Throughout the process, I learned that even though I never saw myself as being a creative mind I was still able to create a final product design that would be suitable for our consumers need. I will definitely be taking all my knowledge from this course and apply it into my future career.

A Semester of Making

Posted on May 4, 2017 by Brian Kobiernicki

When I enrolled in the BADM 395 Digital Making class, I was really not sure what to expect. I had learned about the class while enrolled in Professor Vishal’s BADM 350: IT for Networked Organizations class and thought it might be worthwhile to take. Prior to the first day of class, I had never been to the Maker Lab. In fact, other than seeing a quick demonstration several years ago, I had no experience with 3D Printing or really any form of digital making. My main motivations for taking the class were that 1) I wanted to learn more about the Maker Movement which I knew little about, 2) it would introduce me to many of the resources available at the University that few students take advantage of, and 3) I like the emphasis on learning, growth, and sharing rather than cramming and examination. The fact that the class counted towards my IS/IT major was certainly an added bonus.

I was hoping to learn how 3D Printers work, how to design objects for 3D printing, and different types of 3D Printing. However, I learned all of this and much, much more. I learned about the Maker Movement, different types of fabrication, design, product development, and prototyping, just to name a few topics. I have never considered myself a very “creative” person, so this course challenged me to think outside of my comfort zone. Working through the projects helped me develop some creative skills and further refine my problem solving skills. I am now more comfortable working on product development, a skill that is transferrable to many other processes such as project management. In addition to this, I was introduced to and learned about the following topics.

The Maker Movement:

The first few weeks of class served as an introduction to the Maker Movement. We covered topics such as intellectual property concerns and the success of open source software and devices over paid or closed services. It is here where we learned the learning aspect of the Maker Movement and the importance of learning, sharing, modifying, and most importantly: doing.

Design:

One of the most important facets of making is design. Design for America led us through a workshop to demonstrate the importance of meaningful design. Instead of creating a product and finding demand, we should find a problem and design a solution. Through our readings we learned that products must be desirable, viable, and feasible.

Tinkercad and Fusion 360:

Learning Tinkercad was very easy. Vishal demonstrated the open source online software and we designed our team logos. Even though the program is pretty simple, it makes it very easy to design objects quickly. Our first experience with Fusion 360 was through tutorials before class. Following this series of videos by Lars Christensen, we are able to create a box/housing with a lid. It demonstrated how powerful Fusion 360 really is. We were lucky to have Jeff Smith from Autodesk teach us even more the features available. For my group’s final project, we ended up using Tinkercad rather than Fusion 360 because of its simplicity.

Fab Lab:

We spent three consecutive weeks in the Champaign-Urbana Fab Lab. Although I had soldered in the past, it was my first time in several years. It was a great way to practice making circuits and soldering them together. I was also able to code an Arduino for the first time, which sparked my thought process as we brainstormed ideas for our final project. Finally, I also used a laser engraver for the first time. This introduced me to Inkscape, another open source software (have you noticed a theme yet?) that allowed us to take silhouettes and have them etched into the wood and cut through to form edges.

Prototyping:

The remainder of the semester focused on prototyping. Although I have been through mock product development phases, this was the first time I have gone from identifying a problem to presenting a final, physical working product. David Kelley says “Design is an iterative process” and I found that to be very true. Our prototype went through many versions starting with a sketch on paper to the final version. Between adjusting our coding on the Raspberry Pi to changing the design of the 3D printed housing to adding and removing functionalities, we spent a lot of time refining the project to best solve the problem of a lack of security on campus while addressing the needs of users. Somewhere in the middle of things we were able to learn about 3D scanning, something we could turn into a business idea as Arielle Rausin has. I was able to scan my head and 3D print it. By the end of the semester, we had been able to design, test, refine, and produce a final security system alternative.

An added bonus of the class was being able to go up to Chicago for a day. We visited Deloitte for a presentation on Deloitte’s tech trends and a consulting workshop. We also visited the Deloitte Greenhouse, a space where clients can come in and run through workshops to problem solve and create connections across many levels of their own companies. It was a really unique space and I’m glad I was able to see it. After Deloitte, we drove over to mHUB, a collaborative space where member companies can work on developing and manufacturing products. This is the epitome of the future of making. Members can work together, building off of each others skill sets, have access to collaborative and shared workspaces, and take advantage of a significant amount of expensive, advanced equipment. It was really cool to see Making on a commercial scale.

The end of the semester is bittersweet. While I’m excited for the summer and to be interning again, I am going to miss this class. We formed such a great community together and learned a lot from Vishal, all of our guest speakers, and each other. I’m glad I was able to enjoy this class and challenge myself these past few months.

Ready, Set, Make!

Posted on April 2, 2017 by Brian Kobiernicki

It’s hard to believe we have been away from the Maker Lab for over a month! Week 9 found us back in the Maker Lab after a week away for Spring Break and the previous 3 weeks away at the Champaign Urbana Community Fab Lab. I think all of us were glad to be back “home.” This week we focused on design and prototyping as we start to bring our project ideas to life.

One of the most important points we learned emphasized that design sketches and prototypes are by no means a final product. They can (and should be) rudimentary, use household items, and use temporary solutions. David Kelley, of IDEO, in this presentation says, “Design is an iterative process.” The quicker you can get feedback from a product, the more successful it will be. Each presentation allows you to get more feedback, and people will always tell you “everything that is wrong with it.” Kelley continues in this video to talk about the design of Apple’s mouse, and how a temporary prototype solution to keep dust off the optics can turn into a permanent part of the design. As you improve, you will quickly have a better prototype on your hands and you can even start using custom parts. Jeremy Losaw in “ProtoTYPING: Tips to Get Started on Your Product Idea” says “3D Printing is a great way to get custom parts quickly.” Luckily for us, we have access to the Maker Lab and Fab Lab to make those custom parts with the very talented staff in both labs.

After going over all these discussion points, it was time for our groups to split up and start designing and prototyping. My team, BCC creations, settled on making a low cost security system to provide college students some peace of mind when they are away from their apartments. We have named our product “Security SMS” and will use motion detection to alert of unauthorized entry. When someone enters the apartment, they will have 10 seconds after the motion detector is tripped to turn off the alarm. Otherwise, an alarm will sound and a text message will be sent to the roommates living in the apartment. We will use a Raspberry Pi with Twilio to send the SMS, Piezo for the alarm, and an ultra sonic sensor for the motion detector. We will 3D Print the housing that will hold the alarm, which can be attached to a wall with Velcro. Originally we considered using a Bluetooth unit for the SMS function, but after I went to the Fab Lab during class, we decided to try Twilio. Aakanksha at the Fab Lab offered to help us, and Charlene and I have friends studying Engineering that have offered their talent to us should we need it when programming. Our next step is to start working on putting together a circuit and programming the Raspberry Pi. When we know how big the circuit will be, then we can start prototyping the housing for 3D printing. Although it may be tricky to design in the software, we presume it will be an easier task that working with the technical specifications of the alarm. Regardless, with the three of us working together, we are all excited to prototype!

Soldering & Putting Together The Light Box

Posted on March 19, 2017 by phleung2@illinois.edu

Wires are wrapped together and dangle like gruesome tentacles. A foul smoke rises in the air as the iron touches the metal. Silvery blobs form between two pieces of metal. The process of soldering is underway in the laboratory.

The third and final workshop at the Fab Lab was learning how to solder. I had no prior experience to soldering before, so I was extremely interested. The process of soldering is joining multiple pieces of metals together by melting and adding a filler metal. This results in a permanent connection between electronic components.

Looking back the process was fairly simply. We had to connect all our materials together using a soldering iron. A LED would be connected to a resistor, which would then be connected to a wire. The main concern was using knowing how to safely handle the soldering iron.

The three main safety procedures were to place the soldering iron back into its holder when finished and to never pass the iron to another person, the second was to not breathe in the gas being released when joining metals together, and to wash our hands afterwards since the materials contained lead.

During the workshop, I had difficulty getting the two pieces of metal to stay connected. In addition the metal wires were hard to twist together since they were small. I was one of the last to finish after carefully soldering all the wires together to create an octopus-shaped creature.

Once the soldering was finished, we tested them on our Arduino boards to see if the LEDs worked properly. Taking my time soldering had paid off as mines did not run into too many issues.

I laid out all of the components for my box on the table and began putting everything together. We had to make sure the wires were not touching one another and that the battery component was sticking out of the backside of the box. A couple drops of hot glue and a few burns later, the Arduino Light Box had been completed!

Instructables provides an easy to follow guide on soldering that can be used to apply these skills for your own project along with other projects that can help you practice your skills. Additional resources include a comic of soldering guidelines by the NASA standard.

The Final Product

Posted on March 19, 2017 by Olivia Klein

After three of making at the Fab Lab, we finally completed our light-boxes! For me week one was all about learning how to laser cut and designing the outside of my light-box. Then week two was learning about coding and testing an arduino. My final week at the Fab Lab was dedicated to soldering my arduino.

I have had zero experience with soldering. I did have a few concerns though. I was concerned I would burn myself and that i would soldering the wrong wire. Recalling from the time I coded and tested the arduino the previous week, I found connecting the wires slightly confusing. If you put one wire in the wrong spot then it can throw off the entire arduino. Although I founded soldering easier to pick up than I had previously thought. We were given a brief lesson of how soldering works and then the soldering began! We first connected all the wires together by twisting their ends together to make sure that we ad the structure correct. Then we soldered the connections to make them permanent. I found it crazy how fast the soldering metal would melt and the solidify. A few good tips I learned from soldering were:

Clean your iron off on the sponge.
Do not touch your eyes or face once you have touched the soldering metal.
Do not hand your iron to someone else.

These tips were the keys to my success!

After I had completed soldering then I had completed all three stages in developing a light-box. The only thing left to do was assemble it. Now that everything else was done, this part was simple. To assemble the box, you needed to put the arduino inside the box and assemble and glue the box around the arduino. Then you are left with a completed light-box!

These past three weeks have given me a lot of experience with developing a product from start to finish. It has given me great insight to somewhat of what it takes when you actually start developing a product. You need to individually develop each component of your product. This reassures that each part is working properly. Then once you have done that you can confidently. I will take what I learned with me to make my team’s product for this class. I have really enjoyed these past three weeks and everything the Fab Lab has taught me!!

Laser Cutting-Patience is a Virtue

Posted on March 18, 2017 by Tiffany Kuo

This week wraps up the third and final session at Fab Lab. It gave us a sense of achievement as we were able to put together everything we’ve learned in the past 3 weeks into our final product–a personalized LED lightbox.

In this session, my group experimented with laser cutting. It’s a manufacturing technique that utilizes a laser which creates a beam of light to cut or raster on a panel of material. Common material used includes wood, acrylic plastic, and paper. For this project, we used Russian birch plywood.

To create our design for laser cutting, we used a program called Inkscape. It’s a free and open source vector graphics editor that’s similar to Adobe Illustrator. It was pretty simple and straightforward to use and we learned how to convert a bitmap image downloaded from the Internet into a vector image, so that no matter how you scale it, the edges will be just as sharp and not pixilated. In order for the lines to be cut later on with the laser, it has to have a thickness of 0.001”. As for raster engraving, the darker the shade of the image, the deeper the raster. After designing our images, we saved the file as PDF and brought it to the laser machine to start the cutting process.

Staring at the laser machine while it did its work was actually entertaining, as shown in the video. We had to keep an eye on it the whole time to ensure it doesn’t catch on fire (which they said usually doesn’t happen, but who knows).

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It took about 10 minutes for the machine to cut the 6 pieces as well as rastering 3 sides of the box. Fortunately, mine came out quite well though I had to use sandpaper to smooth out some of the edges. The next step was the exciting part–putting everything together. It took a lot of time and patience to assemble all the parts of the Arduino, LED lights, and wooden box with a hot glue gun, but in the end it was well worth it.

Oh so magical.

Punny play on words 🙂 You go to U of I, you know it’s about the corn life.

My personal logo!

The major takeaways I’ve gotten after these 3 wonderful sessions at the Fab Lab:

Technology is great and so much more than what we normally see. It’s not just about endless coding like what we usually imagine CS majors and software engineers do all day. The Fab Lab has taught me that it’s about combining different skills (coding, designing, soldering, fabricating, etc.) and sparking your inner creativity to make a variety of things, both for personal use and for the benefit of the society.
Patience is a virtue. Yes, it’s triple cheesy but it’s true. I’m not kidding about the number of times I had to tell myself not to get too frustrated, whether it was soldering wires, assembling the LED, or gluing the final product together. This also applies to anything you want to achieve in life.
Collaboration is key. You won’t go far trying to do something by yourself. Every person you meet knows something you don’t, so by sharing ideas with others you are able to accumulate a lot more knowledge which will help guide you in your creations.

Just to finish it up, I’m going to share a cool project that was done through Fab Lab: a 3D printed boombox. The board is written with Arduino language and can play music using an SD card and a 9V battery. I’m sure this bad boy will serve you well at a house party. 🙂

Week 8: Last week at the Fab Lab

Posted on March 17, 2017 by Brian Xu

This week’s session marked our final week at the Fab Lab. Our time spent here was memorable and it’s sad to say that this is our last class time here, but the skills and know-how gathered here were quite memorable and are sure to last us quite a while. To conclude our 3 week journey, everyone participated in their last workshop to finish our light boxes. For me, it was finally time to code.

Having finished all the hardware aspects of the project, the last remaining task was the most integral to the box’s function: its programming. The Arduino itself is a powerful tool, but it cannot be used to its full potential without working with coding. The capabilities of a programmed Arduino are only limited by its user. Being an electrical engineering major, I’m required to have expertise in programming. Most of the programming that I currently do is in C programming, which is what the Arduino IDE (Integrated Development Environment) is based off of. I don’t really deal with the actual custom Arduino software much, however, so it was good to get some practice with this.

Arduino Software Application

We began with the basics, making a simple LED blink. Then we gradually moved on through the Arduino language to where we would be able to design a program that would make the light box behave as we wanted it to: as a light sensor with LEDs that activate accordingly to the level of light. The Arduino IDE is custom built for the various modules that Arduino produces, and as such their certain commands and implications available only to it and not in conventional C programming. We began creating slightly more complex circuits on a test breadboard preparation for the final step of the project. We were allowed to play around and “hack” the programs provided to us so we could get a better feel of the software. This also allowed us to customize each of our light boxes to our preferences. We could select which LEDs would light up and in what order, the amount of light exposed to the sensor which would cause it to send signals to the LED, and so on. Relatively small adjustments, but those little differences were what allowed us to differentiate our final projects from each other. We finished compiling our code and assembled our boxes that we got to take home as a trophy for our weeks of work.

Test circuit for the final project

The long awaited finished product

It may have taken place over a few weeks, but our time spent at the Fab Lab seemed relatively short. I cherish the skills I’ve gained here and the memories of the fun I’ve had these past few weeks will last my lifetime as a maker(i.e. the rest of my life). We’ve come quite a way from our first session here, and our final class projects as well as our abilities as makers have certainly benefited from it all. The Fab Lab was such an amazing experience: I loved being surrounded not only by all the amazing technological tools and processes, but by other inspired and talented people as well.

Week 7 Summary: Building on Our Skills in the Fab Lab

Posted on March 16, 2017 by Brian Kobiernicki

In Week 7 of the Digital Making Course, our community of Makers once again ventured over to the Champaign-Urbana Community Fab Lab. Similar to week 6, our class broke into our three groups to work on the next rotation in making the Blinker Boxes. However, since we were already familiar with the layout of the building and the resources available to us at the Fab Lab, we were able to hit the ground running. Once again, our three groups were split up to working on Coding with the breadboard and Arduino, soldering the electronics, or designing the press-fit boxes for laser engraving and cutting.

Our time in the CUC Fab Lab serves many purposes. First and foremost, it provides us the opportunity to practice skills that can help us with our own making endeavors. It is especially helpful for our project groups to develop a diversified skill set that we can utilize on our semester projects. The workshops at the Fab Lab also familiarize us with the technologies and physical tools available to us. Learning from the staff also helps us get a feel for the greater Maker Community and hearing about their personal projects helped us understand their skill sets and how each of them may be able to help with our projects. Finally, spending time in our own Maker Lab, the Fab Lab, and with all the staff and volunteers gives us a better idea of the Maker Movement that is revolutionizing businesses across the nation and around the world.

Team Supra’s Concept

As we keep going through the semester, we are rapidly approaching the design and prototyping phases of our semester projects. All of the project teams are refining their “How can we” statements while defining the actual problem they are looking to solve. Our first project idea submission was due on Wednesday of Week 7. To give you an idea on some of the concepts the class is working on, Team IJK is trying to help college students decrease stress by using indoor gardening. Team XNihilo is attempting to have busy professionals or college students drink more water. The MakerLAX is hoping to “help teenagers, young adults, and anyone else who struggles” tie a tie properly. Team Zerott is trying to improve patient satisfaction at hospitals. In Week 8, the project groups will be moving forward based on the feedback they have received. Once again we will be submitting our “How can we” statements, but this time we will include a concept details, key components of the solution, the capabilities of team members, outside resources for skills and fabrication tools, and any information resources identified.

Odelia spent this week in the computer section of the Fab Lab code the Arduino for the Blinker Box. Odelia said, “This was my first time actually seeing a computer board up close and I was definitely quite surprised by how it looked. Personally, I thought that it seemed quite fragile and easily breakable. However, it was quite sturdy and it could hold quite a bit of force. Along with the Arduino board, the following things were included.” After setting up the circuit and trying to adjust the code, she found working with the light sensor was the most difficult part of the lesson. I think many would agree, as the range of values corresponding to which LED flashed depended on the specific sensor and how bright the part of the lab you were sitting in was.

Chase spent the class time in the electronics section of the lab soldering his LED’s together. Reflecting on the class , said “the instructional course ultimately proved to be very time consuming and required incredible delicacy, there is little doubt in my mind that this is a crucial tool in any maker’s arsenal of building tools.” For many in the class, this was their first experience with soldering. However, we all were able to pick up on tips and tricks such as using the “helping hands” or tape to hold wires down while soldering multiple pieces together. By the end of class, Chase and his group mates were able to wire the LED’s and sensor into the Arduino he programmed in Week 6 and the LED’s flashed as planned! Finishing off his post, Chase, like many, said he hopes to “incorporate soldering in some capacity” into the final project.

The final phase of the Blinker Box is the making the press fit box. Kenny wrote about using the free Inkscape software to design his box. By taking images from the Internet and vectoring them using the Trace tool, the images became compatible with the laser. Kenny chose artwork from one of his favorite designers to put onto his box. Once it was finished, he said, “It was very rewarding to be able to see something you design on a computer come to life in a matter of minutes. There was something satisfying from watching it go back and for until your vision comes true.”

All of our blinker boxes are coming together as we build on our skills at the Fab Lab. Week 8 will be the last class session in the Fab Lab but many of us will be back to work on our projects. Happy Making!

Final Week in the Fab Lab: Coding with Arduinos

Posted on March 14, 2017 by Brian Kobiernicki

This week we faced the cold and snow as we headed to the Fab Lab for our final session of our 3-week long workshop at the Fab Lab. After working in the electronics area to solder, the laser area to make the press-fit box housing, it was time to work in the coding area at the front of the Fab Lab.

Assisting our group with the Arduino portion were Fab Lab staff members Andrea Vozar and Alexis Papak. After an introduction to the interface we would be using to practice our coding, we started taking out all the components in our kits. To familiarize ourselves with the basics, we set up a simple circuit and opened up some example code that would cause an LED to flash on and off. We were than challenged to change the code so that it signaled the SOS message Morse code. After adding a few lines and changing some values then uploading the new code to the Arduino, I was able to successfully make the LED signal SOS. Then we were challenged to add a second LED and code it so that the lights alternated flashing. After changing the existing code and adding more lines to accommodate two separate LED’s, the lights alternated flashing.

Once we were comfortable with our introduction to coding, it was time to start working on the Blinker Box. We followed a schematic to assemble our soldered LEDs into the right pins, ground, and power source. Then well pulled up the coding for the light box and uploaded it to the Arduino. Now we had to test the photo resister to determine the range of light intensity that was being sensed. After a few attempts of trial and error, I was able to identify an appropriate range for the LED’s to light up at and eventually cycle through flashing. Finally it was time to assemble the box. Using the press-fit cutouts from last week, I put the LED’s and photo resister through their respective holes, and then assembled the box around the Arduino. After 3 weeks of hard work, the project was completed!

Over the past three weeks, working at the Fab Lab provided a solid foundation of 3 different areas of making. Not only do we have a tangible object to show off our learning, we are also comfortable working in the fab lab and can now use what we learned on our group projects and hopefully our own personal projects. To help with personal or the group project, I found Hackster.io, an online community geared towards helping people learn about hardware. You can search difference projects by proficiency level, application type, hardware unit, or many other options. it reminds me of Thingiverse in that you can search and use product categories as well as the community platform it provides. For the group that is considering Hydroponics product, I found this project using Arduino and Raspberry Pi, which may be helpful. The Arduino website also has a great collection of resources for learning the various Arduino products, programming, and offers several tutorials to work through. Happy Making!

Coding, Arduinos, and LEDS, Oh My!

Posted on March 14, 2017 by phleung2@illinois.edu

As week 2 of constructing the light up box commenced, we took part in a coding and arduino workshop. Arduinos are electronics made of a combination of hardware and software tools. In our tool kit there was LED lights, an Arduino Uno, jumper wires, a breadboard, and a resistor. The first steps we took were to connect hardware to the Arduino Board.

We had to connect the different components together to create a circuit to allow for the flow of electrons or in other words electricity. I had trouble grasping the concepts at first, but when I started connecting the pieces together, things made more sense. Once we finished connecting the Arduino to the breadboard along with the LEDs, it was time to run some tests on it through software.

We used an Integrated Development Environment (IDE) software to upload a code, or a written text that tells the arduino what to do, onto the LED circuit that we had created. To test whether or not the code was successfully uploaded, we had to check if the LED light was blinking. I found it extremely frustrating trying to edit until the code worked, but once it was successful, I felt extremely satisfied. Afterwards, I had time to practice hacking the code and changing the time and frequency of when the LED would blink.

Overall I found the workshop to be a great first introduction to coding since I had never coded before. While coding is still a daunting skill, I am more motivated to learn it after having played around with it. I believe that coding is an incredible resourceful skill to have going into any industry.

I especially find it inspiration that companies and organizations are reaching out to children to teach and encourage them to code. Girls Who Code is a nonprofit organization dedicated in closing the gender gap in technology; they host after school clubs along with summer immersion programs for girls to learn coding and get exposure to the tech industry. Implementing coding into the fashion industry, Google’s Made with Code initiative allowed for girls to design a black dress with the help of designer Zac Posen and technologist Maddy Maxey.

Digital Making at the Makerlab- Spring2017

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