An integrated circuit mounted on a piece of plywood with painted traces. (From A-Kit-of-No-Parts)
I just stumbled on Hannah Perner-Wilson’s site A-Kit-of-No-Parts.
From the abstract of her MIT master’s thesis:
I demonstrate a new approach to building electronics that emphasizes the expressive qualities of diverse materials as well as the skill and creativity of the builder. I believe that a more insightful and skilled process is also capable of producing more intelligible and personal results. Conventionally electronics that are built from a kit‐of‐parts have been optimized for speed, efficiency and repeatability of assembly. While this approach demonstrates the power of modular systems that have made many of the technologies we rely on possible, it also constrains us to particular styles of building, influencing what we build as well as impacting how we come to think about electronics. In order to promote a different approach I have developed a series of techniques that allow us to build electronics using a variety of craft materials and tools.
Now this is cool. I love the way that she has blended art, craft, and design with science and technology. Check out her site. Check out her thesis.
If you think that her site is interesting, then you will probably want to look at High-Low Tech, which in their words is:
… a research group at the MIT Media Lab, [that] integrates high and low technological materials, processes, and cultures. Our primary aim is to engage diverse audiences in designing and building their own technologies by situating computation in new cultural and material contexts, and by developing tools that democratize engineering. We believe that the future of technology will be largely determined by end-users who will design, build, and hack their own devices, and our goal is to inspire, shape, support, and study these communities. To this end, we explore the intersection of computation, physical materials, manufacturing processes, traditional crafts, and design.
A custom designed, laser-cut lamp. (From High-Low Tech)
I’m really excited about trying their Paper Lamps with Codeable Objects project, which gives instructions on how to custom design laser-cut lamps. Can’t wait to try that with my daughter!
Enjoy …
Outside Science 