Schedule: Objects sessions

Scratch is a new, open source programming language that makes it easy to create your own interactive stories, animations, games, music, and art -- and share your creations on the Web. Scratch is often described as a tool to teach kids how to program. This workshop will introduce Scratch to programmers and non-programmers alike. Read more.

The Economist has defined services as “products of economic activity that you can’t drop on your foot.” Where businesses once viewed services as a necessary but inconvenient accompaniment to their product offerings, they now increasingly look to designers to develop holistic, human-centered, and innovative service solutions that can help expand profits and cement brand loyalty. Read more.

Come build a shirt that sings when you're squeezed, a purse that sounds an alarm when someone touches it, or a jacket that shines and sparkles at your command. This workshop will guide you through the process of building an interactive garment that incorporates touch sensors, light, and sound. Read more.

Objects are beginning to socialize. A new era of low-bandwidth, low-power wireless networks is enabling a revolution in device communications. In this DIY session we'll insert you into those conversations and introduce you to device communications technology that could change our homes, cars, and clothes. Read more.

Even if you've never even sewn a button, you can learn to make cool things with microcontrollers. Microcontrollers can do so many things: turn off TVs in public places, trip out to your brain waves, move objects, play games -- you can make microcontrollers do it all. It's easy, it's fun, it's where it's at! Read more.

Ever wanted to get a real understanding of how RFID works? In this workshop, you'll learn about the different classes of RFID devices. We'll discuss what RFID can and can't do, what devices are already on the market, and what kinds of future applications are possible. $70 materials fee required. Read more.

China is one of the U.S.'s biggest trading partners, and is one of the premier regions for manufacturing electronic goods of all types. When startup Chumby Industries needed to migrate their U.S.-built Chumby device prototypes to production, they sent bunnie Huang to China to build the Chumby supply chain. Read more.

The greatest sports athletes' records live and die by their hi-tech gear. They use new swimsuits like the razor to shave seconds off their laps and sensors like the Nike+ to record their training. Michael Tchao of Nike Labs will share with us the process behind these creations and the new materials and technology that make them happen. Read more.

True innovation in materials takes on many forms, and for 80% of the world's population means the effective use of often scarce resources. "Technology Transfer," a term used to refer to the process of converting academic research into usable products, is just as important whether between the developing and the developed world or between two disparate industries. Read more.

People knit scarves and solder radios together in their homes and garages. In contrast, companies produce high-tech things by high-tech processes. A host of new tools is making many of the resources previously available only to companies accessible to individuals, empowering people to design, engineer, and build devices that integrate high and low technology. Read more.