CASA0014: CONNECTED ENVIRONMENTS

Summary

An introduction to building the internet of things for people and the environment. In this module students will be introduced to concepts and technologies underpinning connected environments and the role technology can play in trying to measure and understand the built and natural world. Through a series of practical workshop sessions students will be introduced to IoT prototyping tools, existing sensor systems in UCL East and the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and will build a simple sensor system to monitor the environment for the duration of their course.

Keywords

Internet of Things, Connected Environments, Prototypying, Living Labs

Module Aims and Objectives

After having taking this module, you will develop skills in three key areas and should be able to:

Domain Knowledge

• Understand the building blocks of of creating a connected environment (Internet of Things, IoT)
• Understand the various actors participating in our digitally connected environment
• Understand the context of IoT through work that has gone before and Living Lab environments

Prototyping Skills

• Create a simple Arduino sketch with a sensor input and / or actuator output
• Connect an Arduino based IoT device to a datastore to collect data over a wireless network
• Sketch, photograph and use rapid prototyping to explore ideas

Collaboration

• Provide peer feedback to fellow students on project work (a “learn, build, critique” approach will be used throughout the course)
• Create and present design decisions and prototypes to receive critical feedback
• Document and share project information to support reproducible research

In addition, you will establish a shared ‘connected environment’ that you will curate throughout the programme.

Module Delivery

This modules runs twice per week during the first half of term one (10 sessions in total). Each module will typically consist of a one hour lecture introducing key concepts and ideas followd by a two hour practical session where students work through practical exercises designed to familiarise them with software and hardware being used. An extra 10-15 hours per week of self-guided learning is recommened during the module, with a subsequent 50-70 hours devoted to coursework and assesment preperation.

Topics covered

1. Introduction to Connected Environments
2. Hello Monster Design Brief - the repo for this project is linked here
3. Hello Monster Crit
4. Living Lab Walkshop
5. Anatomy of an IoT system I
6. Anatomy of an IoT system II
7. Plant Monitor I - the repo for this project is linked here
8. Plant Monitor II
9. IoT Platforms
10. Future IoT

Software

The course will make heavy use of the following software packages

• Arduino Download and install the Arduino IDE Click the JUST DOWNLOAD link to the left of the CONTRIBUTE & DOWNLOAD button. Once downloaded follow the instructions to install.

• GitHub Create an account on GitHub if you don't already have one.

• Git client. If you are comfortable using Git on the command line then go for it. If you prefer a GUI representation then download a git client to make your life easier.

  • We use Tower which has a free version for students.
  • We also hear good things about SourceTree
  • and there are a few other open source GUI Clients here

Reading List

There is a course reading list under the ReadingLists@UCL facilty which can be accessed here: (https://ucl.rl.talis.com/modules/casa0014.html)

We also have a collection of "social links" that are stored on Pinboard at https://pinboard.in/u:dunc/t:CASA0014/ - these will slowly grow over time and we love receiving suggestions so please do post interesting links in the module slack channel.