designing
interaction with HARDWARE
Spring 2026
Spring 2026
Class overview
This advanced hardware and fabrication course (ID499), offered in the Department of Industrial Design at KAIST, focuses on hands-on making, advanced physical computing, and the development of complex interactive systems. The course is designed to help Master’s and PhD students build confidence working with modern prototyping tools such as microcontrollers and embedded hardware platforms. Students will learn to integrate electronic systems with mechanical components, exploring topics central to robotics, sensing and physical computing. Through a series of progressively challenging homework, the course emphasizes not only technical proficiency but also the ability to translate interactive ideas into robust, functioning physical prototypes. The class is highly hands-on and homework-driven.
Friday 10:00 - 13:00
Building N25, Room 215 (2nd floor) - OFFLINE
Office hours: before and after class, or by appointment
Slides 2a - Visualizing Circuits (schematics, breadboard, Simulator TinkerCAD, EasyEDA)
Slides2b - Electronics basics (Ohm's lab, measurements, DMM)
Additional resources
Video lecture about EasyEDA
Homework
Homework 1: Schematics and Breadboard (due Thursday, March 19, 23:59 pm)
Slides 3 - Ohm's law practice + Circuit Simulator
Homework
Homework 2: Breadboard prototyping (due Thursday, April 2, 23:59 pm)
Slides 4 - Resistor networks + Oscilloscope
Additional resources
OpenScope MZ software for Windows, Linux (64-bit deb), Mac.
Homework
Homework 3: practice with numbers (due Thursday, April 2, 23:59 pm)
Slides 5 -MicroPython basics + GPIO
Homework
Homework 4: One Line Tetris (due Thursday, April 16, 23:59 pm)
Slides 6: - Finishing up last class
- Controlling many LEDs (binary numbers, shift register, neopixel)
No class April 17
Slides 9 - Diodes, Relays and Transistors (substitution class)
Homework
Homework 5: Binary Timer (due Thursday, May 7, 23:59 pm)
No class May 1 (substitution holiday)
Guest lecture by designer Jaeseong Yi
Professor's slides
Motors, Sensors and Filtering
Slides - Sensors and Communication
TBD
Project feedback
Final Presentation 🚀
Final project submission due