Technology surrounds us, yet we seldom think about how a particular device operates or how much work and knowledge are necessary to design it. This is especially true for programmable electronic devices. With the ever increasing integration of microcontrollers into our lives, the basics of programming basics are also taught in high schools. Yet IT and computer science classes are strongly biased towards high level programming languages, despite the fact that many large scale engineering challenges require the close integration of hardware and low-level software. The main focus of this course is to provide the most basic tools and know-how for building electrically actuated machines.
The attendees will be familiarise themselves with the basics of Arduino programming and the very basics of sensor electronics. The curriculum is designed to put more emphasis on the how-to and basic concepts of hardware-near programming. The main objective is to provide the necessary theoretical and practical groundworks for more advanced modules in the Autumn Term.
As Carl Sagan put it: “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic”. This leaves no other choice, but to become wizards ourselves.