The Internet of Things (IoT) refers to physical devices or objects that have sensors and are connected to the internet and/or one another. Examples include wearables and health monitors, home automation such as thermostats and lights, mobility with self-driving cars, agriculture with smart greenhouses, and so much more. IoT devices offer hyper-contextual and real-time data collection, which can be harnessed to create solutions that are better informed, more responsive, and more efficient. This also gives them tremendous potential for creating solutions that help to bring about a more fair, inclusive, and sustainable world. This workshop is an opportunity to explore how IoT can be used in transformative ways, not just for the benefit of people, but the benefit of community and planet.

Prerequisites

This workshop is open to everyone, and no specific prerequisites are needed. Just come with an open mind, a curious approach, and your hands ready to make things.

How you’ll learn

This pop-up takes an approach best described as “serious fun,” where you’ll be introduced to the tools and techniques needed to bring your connected product ideas to life. The week is a compact version of our own design process at FROLIC studio. We believe in making ideas tangible quickly, and using prototypes to visualise and validate those ideas. We will utilise different disciplines to bring your concepts to life, resulting in a semi-functional proof-of-concept that will feel like it exists in the real world. This process will provide the lessons and insights necessary to take additional steps with its development.

What you’ll learn

• An understanding of a variety of technologies and their prospects in the context of connected devices
• IoT’s potential for tackling social and environmental challenges
• Sustainability strategies in product design 
• Basic research, mood-boarding, benchmarking, and concept development
• How to infuse a product with behaviours, services, and real-world user scenarios to get a sense of the complete product
• Basics of prototyping and fabrication, including: industrial design, 3D printing, laser cutting, Arduino, programming, electronics, UX design, and the making of high-fidelity dummy apps
• Concept/product communication skills

What to bring

• Laptop computer
• Smartphone