Over the past couple of years, the Arduino has given artists, designers and programmers the ability to rethink the ways in which the physical and digital worlds coexist – going beyond keyboard and mouse into creating electronic objects and installations which can sense and respond to the physical world in new and interesting ways.
Needless to say, we at the Madlab love the Arduino – and for this reason we’ve put together a 1-day workshop covering the basics of getting started with the platform – what you need to know, a hands-on introduction into what you can make it do, how to get the most out of the platform and some ideas for where you can take it next.
The workshop will be on Friday the 26th of February, from 10am until 5pm. Cost is £65 which includes a starter kit (http://www.oomlout.co.uk/arduino-budget-pack-ardb-p-217.html) from our friends at Oomlout containing all the bits you need to get going including the Arduino board itself. Attendees will need to bring a laptop, and if they like some lunch (although we can recommend lunch at Common). Prior computer programming experience would be desirable but not essential and we will aim to accommodate everyone, regardless of their skill levels or confidence.
We really hope that you’ll come down and check this out – we’ve kept the costs as low as we can, to give more people the chance to get involved!
And finally, some of our favourite Arduino-based projects:
An interactive shop window display, for HBO in New York courtesy of Soso. Sensors detect the movement of passers-by and respond by launching snowflakes into the air.
(VID)
The Arduinome – a DIY (and much cheaper) version of the Yamaha Tenori-on electronic instrument as used by Lady Gaga and others.
(VID)
The “responsible robot bartender”, SoBear. Based on how boozy your breath is, the SoBear gives you what it considers to the be the appropriate blend of spirit and mixer!
And, saving the best for last, the all-twittering Bubblino from friend of Madlab Adrian McEwen. Bubblino looks out for messages on twitter about him, and blows bubbles in response.
<object width=”480″ height=”362″><param name=”allowfullscreen” value=”true” /><param name=”allowscriptaccess” value=”always” /><param name=”movie” value=”http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=3775263&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=00ADEF&fullscreen=1″ /><embed src=”http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=3775263&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=00ADEF&fullscreen=1″ type=”application/x-shockwave-flash” allowfullscreen=”true” allowscriptaccess=”always” width=”480″ height=”362″></embed></object><p><a href=”http://vimeo.com/3775263″>Bubblino at Bookcamp</a> from <a href=”http://vimeo.com/user1027252″>Adrian McEwen</a> on <a href=”http://vimeo.com”>Vimeo</a>.</p>
Over the past couple of years, the Arduino has given artists, designers and programmers the ability to rethink the ways in which the physical and digital worlds coexist – going beyond keyboard and mouse into creating electronic objects and installations which can sense and respond to the physical world in new and interesting ways.
Needless to say, we at the Madlab love the Arduino – and for this reason we’ve put together a 1-day workshop covering the basics – what you need to know, a hands-on introduction into what you can make it do, how to get the most out of the platform and some ideas for where you can take it next.
The workshop will be on Friday the 26th of February, from 10am until 5pm. Cost is £65 which includes a starter kit from our friends at Oomlout containing all the bits you need to get going including the Arduino board itself. Attendees will need to bring a laptop, and if they like some lunch (although there are plenty of places nearby if not). Prior computer programming experience would be desirable but not essential and we will aim to accommodate everyone, regardless of their skill levels or confidence.
We really hope that you’ll come down and check this out – we’ve kept the costs as low as we can, to give more people the chance to get involved!
And finally, some of our favourite Arduino-based projects!
An interactive shop window display, for HBO in New York courtesy of Soso. Sensors detect the movement of passers-by and respond by launching snowflakes into the air.
The Arduinome – a DIY (and much cheaper) version of the Yamaha Tenori-on electronic instrument as used by Lady Gaga and others.
The “responsible robot bartender”, SoBear. Based on how boozy your breath is, the SoBear gives you what it considers to the be the appropriate blend of spirit and mixer!
And, saving the best for last, the all-twittering Bubblino from friend of Madlab Adrian McEwen. Bubblino looks out for messages on twitter about him, and blows bubbles in response.
Hey, I’ve already got an Arduino Mega [bought just a couple of weeks ago] and would love to attend without having to pay the full £65. Is there an option of peeps that don’t need the Arduino??
Hey Andy, you’ll need the other parts of the starter kit as well as the Arduino – breadboard, jumper wires, LEDs etc. If you’ve got those then you’ll be good to go though and I’ve added an ‘already have an Arduino’ price to the eventbrite page.
The Madlab is a community space for people who want to do and make interesting stuff - a place for geeks, artists, designers, illustrators, hackers, tinkerers, innovators and idle dreamers; an autonomous R&D laboratory and a release valve for Manchester's creative communities.
We're a not-for-profit organisation dependent on funding. If you think what we're doing is valuable, we'd be really grateful for any donation you could contribute towards this project.
How do I sign up? I’m a definite, but I’ll be a bit late arriving (but it’s OK, I ran my first sketch a few months ago…
Hey, I’ve already got an Arduino Mega [bought just a couple of weeks ago] and would love to attend without having to pay the full £65. Is there an option of peeps that don’t need the Arduino??
Hey Alasdair, we’ll have the booking form up on the site shortly. No problem if you’re a bit late arriving. Look forward to seeing you next week.
@Alasdair – um, the week after next, even!
Hi Andy, I’m just checking with Asa who is organising the event, but it shouldn’t be a problem. We’ll have something up on the site about concs soon.
Booking form is now up! Click on the Arduino Day Link under Events and click through to the Eventbrite page from there.
R
Hey Rachael, can you drop me an email when the info on the concs comes online?
Cheers
Hey Andy, you’ll need the other parts of the starter kit as well as the Arduino – breadboard, jumper wires, LEDs etc. If you’ve got those then you’ll be good to go though and I’ve added an ‘already have an Arduino’ price to the eventbrite page.
I want attend, please!
Hi Alan, we’re now taking bookings via Eventbrite here. Look forward to seeing you there!