Reading the physical world into a microcontroller — sensors, and Studio Brief 1's crit
15 March 2027
The physical-computing pillar opens with input: a microcontroller reading light, distance, motion or force from the physical world and turning it into a number your code can use. This is also the week Studio Brief 1 is due — it asks you to combine a digitizing technique with the Programming I on-ramp, so today’s crit looks at how that combination actually held together.
Outline#
- microcontroller basics: what “reading a sensor” means as a loop
- a walkthrough of two or three common sensor types and where each is a good fit
- Studio Brief 1 crit — short demos, feedback on the digitizing + Programming I combination
- actuators next week: what changes when the microcontroller writes back out to the physical world instead of just reading it
Teaching team
- Idris Fenn — tutor