Engaging Amateurs in the Design, Fabrication, and Assembly of Electronic Devices
Name
p1270-mellis.pdf
Description
Published version
Size
14.84 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
97f998c7aa36d060e8ca607345f6961d
Author(s)
Mellis, David Adley
Buechley, Leah
Resnick, Mitchel
Hartmann, Björn
Date Issued
June 2016
Journal
Proceedings of the 2016 ACM Conference on Designing Interactive Systems
Publisher
ACM Press
Citation
Mellis, David A. et al. "Engaging Amateurs in the Design, Fabrication, and Assembly of Electronic Devices." Proceedings of the 2016 ACM Conference on Designing Interactive Systems, June 2016, Brisbane Australia, ACM Press: 1270–1281
Version
Final published version
Abstract
This paper explores personal fabrication as a means of engaging new audiences in the creation of electronic devices, which play an ever-increasing role in our lives but which most people have little involvement in creating. We describe a six-session workshop in which eight participants made wificonnected devices through the design and fabrication of custom printed circuit boards. We explore the implications of using components and processes analogous to those in commercial products, as opposed to the limited set of higherlevel building blocks found in toolkits for hobbyist electronics. We highlight unique advantages and challenges of a personal fabrication approach. We explore the role of attitudes in identifying a suitable audience for these activities. We discuss insights into commercial electronic products offered by personal fabrication and explore its role in a world of massproduced electronic devices. Finally, we suggest opportunities for future tools and technologies.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Media Laboratory
Terms of Use
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license
Persistent DSpace Link
DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1145/2901790.2901833
