Rapid Prototyping

Catalog description

Have you ever wanted to build a physical product but didn’t know where to start? Have you ever wondered how the objects you use everyday came to exist in the forms that they are? In a world that is becoming increasingly digital humans will also need physical interfaces to interact with these experiences. Rapid prototyping is one of the core tenets for the development of meaningful experiences and usable elements in physical products both for digital experiences and real world experiences. This course will introduce students to hands on development of physical prototyping for product development or for use in creating elements of physical art installation. We will through practical application explore how we might interact with rudimentary materials and how we will use them to address a series of fun challenges through rapid prototyping. Students will gain experience of how to translate these prototypes into CAD models for further refinement. These challenges will provide skills acquisition opportunities and culminate in a final challenge where students will use their learnings to create a physical prototype that solves a real world problem. Prerequisite: None. Fulfillment: IMA elective; IMB major IMA/IMB elective.