ARDUINO

Similar to the open source pieces of software presented within the other categories of the website and to the collaborative and interactive ways of approach used in design as a new form of language, Arduino combines them both.

It is an open-source electronics platform based on easy-to-use hardware and software. It's intended for anyone making interactive projects.

The first Arduino was introduced in 2005. Its designers sought to provide an inexpensive and easy way for hobbyists, students, and professionals to create devices that interact with their environment using sensors and actuators. Common examples for beginner hobbyists include simple robots, thermostats and motion detectors. Arduino boards come with a simple integrated development environment (IDE) that runs on regular personal computers and allows users to write programs for Arduino using C or C++.

Arduino senses the environment by receiving inputs from many sensors, and affects its surroundings by controlling lights, motors, and other actuators.

There are numerous artists who use this open platform for interactive projects, using elements from the physical world combined with the virtual world, through physical computing.

Daniel Rozin is one of the, for instance with his "Weave Mirror" project. Most of his projects have the unique ability to change and respond to the presence and point of view of the viewer. In many cases the viewer becomes the contents of the piece and in others the viewer is invited to take an active role in the creation of the piece. This relates directly to the theme of my website "Authorship and Interaction".

Components that are used with the Arduino board include:

LEDs
Resistors
Wire
Breadboard
Capacitors
Sensors