UE L : Digital design and making: New approaches

Summary

The UE focuses on the project-based exploration of digital design and construction processes. In particular, students will propose and physically implement robotic processes and analyse their relationship to design and construction through both technical knowledge transfer and critical reflection.

Content

Keywords

digital design, digital fabrication, robotics, robotic construction

Learning Prerequisites

Required courses

none

Recommended courses

AR-503 is helpful, however it is not a requirement. Students with no prior knowledge of robotics or programming are very welcome.

Important concepts to start the course

General concepts of programming and robotics are helpful, but not a requirement. Students with no prior knowledge are welcome to join the course.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the course, the student must be able to:

• Describe a given digital fabrication process
• Propose their own digital design and fabrication process
• Discuss the relevance and impact of digital process
• Develop a digital fabrication process that they regard as meaningful
• Implement their own chosen digital construction process

Teaching methods

Tutorials / workshops

Discussions / Presentations

Expected student activities

Development of projects involving physical prototyping and demonstration of robotic processes

Critical discussions on the covered topics

In-class presentations of project development and background research

Assessment methods

Students will be evaluated through the development of projects (individual and gin groups). As part of the project assessment there will be technical assignments as well as short writing submissions  and presentations during class.

In addition, participation in class will be considered, as well as a fnal paper synthethising the developed projects by proposing a research statement and describing the implementation throughout the projects.

The evaluation distribution is as follows:

-        Project assignments: 60%

-        Final paper: 20%

-        Class participation: 20%

Supervision

Resources

Moodle Link

• https://go.epfl.ch/AR-508