Each day we see robots that run like animals, humans with superhuman senses, remote control cockroaches, and fantastical virtual worlds as rich and complex as the real world. New advances are creating smarter prosthesis that allow individuals to store energy, absorb shock better, and maneuver in efficient ways. Harnessing brain waves to control prosthetics is providing amazing possibilities for amputees, paralyzed, and disabled individuals. Individuals on the avante-garde of human-machine implants can hear sound and sense north. With these technological advances, humans can become cyborgs who have the potential to experience the world in ways unimaginable to unaltered humans. Futurist Elon Musk says "We’re already a cyborg. We already have ‘super powers’!” What are the possibilities for superhuman cyborgs, and what are the pitfalls of becoming part machine?

In this studio, we will explore the creation of human-cyborg enhancements. Through this exploration, we will look at the fundamentals of mechatronics and use microprocessor electronics, 3D modelling software, and rapid prototyping machines to design, build, and activate these enhancements. 20th Century machines have made ambiguous the lines between natural and artificial; and microelectronics and the political invisibility of cyborgs have confused the lines of physicality. What was once a theory is becoming a fantastic reality which we will explore through our cyborg creations!

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Focus Skills/Subjects/Technologies:

   Industrial Design

     Interaction Design

   Fashion Design

   Physics (Electricity, Magnetism)

   Engineering

   Programming

   Electronics

   Robotics (Arduino, Sensors, Actuators)

   Digital Fabrication (Laser-cutting, 3d Printing)

   3d Modeling

Prerequisites:

• Enrolling students must be between the ages of 14 to 18 (or grades 9-12)

REGISTER HERE!