Shortcut to today's assignment
Shortcut to today's lecture
Shortcut to student presentations
Shortcut to student Github repositories
- Scene Shop: 9am - 5pm
- Your ID card provides access to the IM lab 8am-9pm weekdays, and 9am-5pm on weekends.
- IM lab staffed hours (may change towards end of semester):
- 11am - 10pm Monday - Thursday
- 2:30 - 6pm on Fridays
- noon - 6pm on weekends
- Dustin's email: dustinfoster@nyu.edu
- Tony's email: anb6202@nyu.edu
- IM lab User guide for lab equipment and materials (in progress)
-
Course Information
- Course Code and Number: IM-UH 2113
- Course Title: Machine Lab
- Credit Hours: 4
- This is a 14 week course consisting of fourteen 75 minute meetings and fourteen 150 minute meetings
- Instructional time requirements are met by the scheduled meeting times
- Class location: C3-029 (IM Lab in the Art Center)
- Prerequisites: IM-UH 1010 or INTM-SHU 101 Interaction Lab or IMNY-UT 101 Creative Computing or DM-UY 1133 Creative Coding
-
This course counts toward the following NYUAD degree requirements:
- Majors > Interactive Media
- Majors > Interactive Media > Physical Computing
- Minors > Interactive Media
-
Faculty Details
- Professor: Michael Shiloh mshiloh@nyu.edu
- Office hours: Schedule an appointment here
- Office phone number: 02-628-5185
-
Session: Spring 2026
-
Meeting times:
- 8:30 - 11:10 Tuesday
- 9:55 - 11:10 Thursday
-
Instructional time requirements are met by the scheduled meeting times
Course website: https://github.com/michaelshiloh/MachineLab
- This is subject to change
- Course Description
- Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs)
- Teaching and Learning Methodologies
- Graded Activities
- Course Materials
- Academic Policies and Resources
- Other Course Information
- Appendix 1: Interactive Media Major Program Learning Outcomes.
The saying goes, "If all you have is a hammer, then every problem looks like a nail." What if all you have is a 3D Printer? In this course, students will be introduced to, and engage critically with, a range of contemporary machines inside and around the Interactive Media Lab. Leveraging historical perspectives, current use-cases, and hands-on making, the course will explore how machines enhance, or limit, our creative processes. Readings and discussion will be paired with practical designing, prototyping, and making of creative computer controlled devices, such as drawing machines, musical instruments, or Rube Goldberg contraptions. Over the course of the semester, students will be exposed to a variety of tools, materials, and fabrication techniques. By thinking about machines, using machines, and making machines, the course will offer insight into our creative relationships with our tools.
Course material will incorporate both theoretical and practical components. Students will be exposed to critical analysis regarding the historical and contemporary use of machines in the context of art and theatrical performance.
The saying goes, "If all you have is a hammer, then every problem looks like a nail." What if all you have is a 3D Printer? In this course, students will be introduced to, and engage critically with, a range of contemporary machines inside and around the Interactive Media Lab. Leveraging historical perspectives, current use-cases, and hands-on making, the course will explore how machines enhance, or limit, our creative processes. Readings and discussion will be paired with practical designing, prototyping, and making of creative computer controlled devices, such as drawing machines, musical instruments, and a collaborative Rube Goldberg contraption. Over the course of the semester, students will be exposed to a variety of tools, materials, and fabrication techniques as well as learn how to use micro-controllers and software to give their machines unique behaviors and abilities. By thinking about machines, using machines, and making machines, the course will offer insight into our creative relationships with our tools.
Course material will incorporate both theoretical and practical components. Students will be exposed to critical analysis regarding the historical and contemporary use of machines in the context of art and theatrical performance. In parallel, students will also learn about electronics, programming, machines, and mechanical construction techniques. Over the course of the semester, students will iterate through multiple machine exercises culminating in a team project consistent with the class theme and physically integrated in a class enclosure. The course will finish with a public presentation of the class project at the Interactive Media End Of Semester Showcase.
You do not need to prove your brilliance, but do prove your intellectual engagement and curiosity.
| CLO number | Upon successful completion of this course the student will be able to: | Linked to Program Learning Outcome * (Level of Contribution - High/Medium/Low) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Work in a team to conceptualize and fabricate an electromechanical device that is creative, robust, long lasting, technically sound, and aesthetically pleasing | PLO 8: High, PLO 3: High, PLO 5: High, PLO 6, Medium |
| 2 | Understand how choice and availability of tools affects design, and how to adjust a design to most closely achieve the desired outcome using available tools | PLO 3: High, PLO 6: Medium |
| 3 | Conceptualize, design, construct, program, and debug a creative machine | PLO 5: High, PLO 6: Medium |
| 4 | Improve their technical skills in programming, electronics, mechatronics, and debugging | PLO 5: High, PLO 4: Medium |
| 5 | Constantly monitor and revise a plan based on unexpected developments to deliver a Minimum Viable Project (MVP) on a deadline | PLO 4: Medium, PLO 7: Medium |
| 6 | Analyze and critique the history and co-development of humans and machines | PLO 1: High, PLO 4: High |
| 7 | Research and make an insightful presentation on the historical and contemporary use of machines in the creative sphere | PLO 1: High, PLO 4: High |
* The Program Learning Outcomes (PLOs) are described in Appendix 1: Interactive Media Major Program Learning Outcomes.
This is a production based course. Students will be learning primarily through hands-on experience and iterative experimentation. Classes will move quickly through each topic, first providing a theoretical foundation along with technical instruction, moving as quickly as possible to where students implement each topic themselves.
Individual classes may consist of, but not be limited to, the following: lecture, discussion, examples, group work, demonstrations, hands-on exercises and presentations.
Outside of the class, students will engage in both individual and group work. Group work will require coordinating with other members of the group to schedule group meetings.
Students are required to present their projects at the Interactive Media End of Semester Showcase.
- Engaging in class discussions and offering advice, input, feedback, etc during class is a major part of your grade. Participating in class is helpful for me to get to know you as an individual and keep track of your progress. What is equally important is that it provides you and your classmates the opportunity to learn from each other through the sharing of failures, successes, and insights on the work you are doing.
- Students must be present at the IM end of semester show.
Rubric:
- Level of participation on a scale of 0 to 3, then prorated according to the Grade Distribution
| Performance Indicator | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frequency of participation in class and in meetings | Frequently initiates contributions and offers to respond to questions posed in class; regularly contributes to discussion or asks questions | Occasionally initiates contributions and offers to respond to questions posed in class; occasionally raises questions in meetings | Rarely initiates contributions and offers to respond to questions posed in class; rarely raises questions in meetings | Does not initiate contributions and will only respond to direct questions posed to student; does not raise questions in meetings |
| Quality of comments / questions | Comments always insightful and constructive; asks insightful questions that demonstrate student has actively listened to the presentation and engaged with the material | Comments mostly insightful; asks questions that demonstrate good engagement with the material presented during the presentation | Comments are sometimes constructive; comments too long or not always relevant to discussion; comments have already been stated | Comments are uninformative; heavy reliance on general sentiment (“I don’t like the idea”, “sounds great”) |
| Listening skills | Actively listens during meetings / presentations, including when other students speak; builds on comments of others; never uses laptop inappropriately | Mostly attentive when others present or pose questions; occasionally needs reminder from instructor to focus or comment; was reminded once not to use laptop during presentations | Often inattentive and needs reminder to focus in class; interrupts others or otherwise disrupts others who are speaking; had to be reminded 2-3 in the semester not to use laptop during presentations | Does not listen to others; speaks while others speak; detracts from discussion; had to be reminded more than 4 times in the semester not to use laptop during presentations |
- Weekly assignments at the beginning of the semester present hands-on opportunities to put into practice the concepts presented in class. Later in the semester weekly assignments consist primarily, but not exclusively, of steps in the development and construction of each individual project
- Unless you have built many complex electromechanical projects in the past, you are unlikely to have a good sense of how long tasks should take. Weekly assignments help keep the project development and construction on track, alert me to difficulties, and break up the project into manageable pieces.
- Each week you are expected to report on your progress in your journal in your Github repository. Each journal entry should include a description of the assignment and how you addressed it along with hand drawn sketches, pictures, videos, or code snippets, as appropriate. Include the sources of any information you found useful such as code, schematics, explanations, etc. Copying code or techniques without attribution is plagiarism. Few ideas come out of the blue, and your readers can learn a lot from the sources from which you learned and by which you were were inspired. The writing is expected to be well reasoned, grammatically correct, and written as if it were a paper being turned in.
Rubric:
Each weekly assignment is worth up to 2 points, then prorated according to the Grade Distribution
| Excellent (2 points) | Poor (1 point) | Incomplete (0 points) |
|---|---|---|
| All parts of the assignment have been completed reliably and robustly; journal documentation is complete and well written | Most parts of the assignment have been completed and are mostly reliable and robust; documentation is mostly present and well written | Most parts of the assignment have been not been completed or are unreliable or not robust; journal entry is incomplete or absent |
- Working in teams of 2-3 develop a working prototype of the most difficult mechanical part of your project
- Document this thoroughly in your Github repository in a file called
midtermProject.md. As you are working in teams, it is sufficient for the documentation to be in the repository of one of you, but the other person must still create a file calledmidtermProject.mdand in it provide a link to the documentation in the other team member's repository.
Rubric:
The midterm assignment receives a maximum of 5 points, then prorated according to the Grade Distribution
| Criteria | Excellent (5 points) | Very Good (4 points) | Good (3 points) | Marginal (2 points) | Poor (1 point) | Incomplete (0 points) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assignment Quality | All exercise criteria are fulfilled and work shows excellent level of effort and attention to detail. | Assignment is slightly incomplete or is not implemented to an extremely high standard; documentation is almost entirely complete or is complete but the writing quality does not rise to the level of excellent. | Assignment is moderately complete or is implemented to a moderate standard; documentation is almost entirely complete or is complete but is only of a moderate quality | Assignment is marginally complete or is implemented to a marginal standard; documentation is marginally complete or is complete but is only of a marginal quality | Assignment is barely complete or is implemented to a very low standard; documentation is barely complete or is only of a poor quality | Hardly any required components are present or assignment was not submitted |
Each student will research two cultural, social, historical, contemporary, ethical, technical, or aesthetic topics in the field of machine art, and develop and defend a thesis in each one with proper supporting evidence. This can include an individual artist, an art collective, an art project, or an art movement.
Students will give their presentations in panels consisting of four students. Each panel will work together to read and discuss each others' presentations, and each panelist will lead the class in a short discussion on the presentation of one of the other panelists. Panelists are responsible for coordinating amongst themselves meeting times to prepare.
Each student is free to select their topics but must communicate their choices to me for approval by week 3. A spreadsheet will be provided for each student to select the dates for giving their presentations and participating in the panel discussions on a "first-come, first-served" basis.
Panels will take place during the short meeting of weeks 4-10.
Rubric:
The panel presentations receive a maximum of 10 points, then prorated according to the Grade Distribution
| Criteria | Excellent (5 points) | Very Good (4 points) | Good (3 points) | Marginal (2 points | Poor (1 point) | Incomplete (0 points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Presentation Quality | Presentation is of high quality and shows evidence of excellent research; thesis is clearly articulated and is extremely well defended with supporting evidence | Presentation is of very good quality and shows evidence of very good research; thesis is very well articulated and defended with very good supporting evidence | Presentation is of good quality or shows evidence of good research; thesis is well articulated and defended with good supporting evidence | Presentation is of marginal quality or shows evidence of marginal research; thesis is marginally articulated and defended with marginal supporting evidence | Presentation is of poor quality or shows evidence of poor research; thesis is poorly articulated and defended with poor supporting evidence | Presentation is of very poor quality or doesn't show evidence of research; thesis is very poorly articulated and defended with very poor supporting evidence |
| Discussion Quality | Discussion is of high quality and shows evidence of excellent understanding of and engagement with the presentation; Questions are thoughtful and insightful; panelist's replies are integrated into further questions | Discussion is of very good quality and shows evidence of very good understanding of and engagement with the presentation; Questions are thoughtful and insightful; panelist's replies are very well integrated into further questions | Discussion is of good quality and shows evidence of good understanding of and engagement with the presentation; Questions are mostly thoughtful and insightful; panelist's replies are well integrated into further questions | Discussion is of marginal quality and shows evidence of marginal understanding of and engagement with the presentation; Questions are marginally thoughtful and insightful; panelist's replies are not well integrated into further questions | Discussion is of poor quality and shows evidence of poor understanding of and engagement with the presentation; Questions are barely thoughtful and offer little to no insight; panelist's replies are barely integrated into further questions | No discussion |
This class culminates in the construction of a large semi-permanent electromechanical installation consisting of five individual group projects based on a common theme.
Rubric:
The final project receives a maximum of 20 points, then prorated according to the Grade Distribution
| Criteria | Excellent (5 points) | Very Good (4 points) | Good (3 points) | Marginal (2 points | Poor (1 point) | Incomplete (0 points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Concept and creativity | Project shows excellent concept and creativity; creative use of standard components to give the project a unique design | Very good concept and creativity; very good evidence of intentional design | Good concept and creativity; good evidence of intentional design, but some evidence of standard unimaginative design | Marginal concept and creativity; much evidence of standard unimaginative design; very few surprises; very little excitement | Almost no evidence of creativity | Incomplete |
| Functionality | Excellent functionality; all features are implemented | Very good functionality; almost all all features are implemented | Good functionality; most features work as designed | Marginal; only those features necessary for the script are implemented | Poor functionality: many features unimplemented; some necessary features unimplemented | Incomplete |
| Technical implementation | Excellent implementation; very high standard of construction, extremely highly reliable behavior, excellent layout allowing access for repair and modification | Very good functionality; high construction standard; very good reliability and layout | Good functionality; reliability, robustness, and ease of modification are quite good | Marginal; reliability and robustness are intermittent; construction in barely adequate; layout makes access possible but difficult | Poor implementation; project is unreliable; construction is flimsy, layout makes access impossible or very difficult unimplemented | Incomplete |
| Appearance | Evidence of great attention to appearance; finish is refined; excellent use of construction materials such as fabrics, metal, etc.; painting or other decorations well implemented and contribute effectively to the project | Very good appearance; finish is very good, with evidence of very good attention to appearance; very good use of paint or other decorations | Good appearance; good attention to detail; good use of paint, fabrics, and other decorations | Project is primarily functional with barely adequate but uninspiring appearance | Very little evidence of consideration to appearance | Incomplete |
| Activity | Percentage of final grade | Submission Date (week) | CLOs assessed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Participation | 10 | Weekly | 6 |
| Weekly assignment | 20 | Weekly | See Schedule |
| Midterm | 20 | Week 7 | 1, 2, 3, 4 |
| Panel | 20 | na | 6, 7 |
| Final project | 30 | Week 14 | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 |
| Total | 100 |
| Letter Grade | Minimum Percentage |
|---|---|
| --- | --- |
| A | 100 - 95 |
| A- | 94 - 90 |
| B+ | 89 - 87 |
| B | 86 - 83 |
| B- | 82 - 80 |
| C+ | 79 - 77 |
| C | 76 - 73 |
| C- | 72 - 70 |
| D+ | 69 - 67 |
| D | 66 - 63 |
| F | 62 - 0 |
| Scores will be rounded up at precisely .5, so 89.5 becomes 90 but 89.49 does not. |
All required course materials will be provided. Students may optionally elect to purchase additional accessories for their project, but this is not required.
Work submitted up to five days late will receive a reduced grade. Work more than 5 days late will be accepted at the discretion of the professor. If you need an extension please contact the professor in advance.
This is an intense course. You should be prepared to spend many hours working on your project. I expect your attendance, attention, and engagement throughout the semester. If you do not feel that you can remain fully engaged in this course, consider dropping it. Your attendance is demonstrated by showing up for every class on time. Your attention is demonstrated by not using phones or laptops or other distractions. Your engagement is demonstrated by taking notes, by asking questions, and by participating in discussions.
- Attendance is mandatory. Every class builds off the preceding one so it is vital to be present and on time for every lesson.
- I recognize that some absences are unavoidable. If you know you are going to be late or absent, please email me in advance. If you have an emergency, let me know as soon as you can. To receive an excused absence, you must ask in advance, and receive written permission from me.
- If you plan on not attending more than two meetings during the semester, consider taking the course at some other time.
Excused absences:
- Your own illness or hospitalization
- Immediate family illness, hospitalization, or death
- National holidays
- Visa appointments
Unexcused absences
- Competitions, debates, conferences, etc.
- Illness, hospitalization, or death of extended family member
- Candidate weekend ambassador
- The real AD show
- Travel
- Family gathering
- Field trips for other classes
- Transportation failures (car trouble, traffic, public transportation)
- Job related activities, whether an NYUAD job or not
Rubric:
- Arriving late by more than 5 minutes, either at the start of class or following a break, will count as an unexcused absence.
- Each unexcused absence reduces your final grade by 5%.
- Absences due to holiday travel or vacation travel will not be excused.
- During lectures, when classmates are presenting or we’re in the midst of a class discussion, use of these items is not permitted
- Use of a laptop more than 4 times a semester during lecture, presentations, or discussions will result in 0 points for participation
- Notes should be taken using pen and paper unless you have discussed this with me and received written approval
- If you have an emergency that requires you to answer your phone during class, please tell me ahead of time
If you have any questions, would like extra help, or need further instruction, please reach out to me. You can communicate with me via email, sign up for office hours, or any time you see me. Please let me know if you have any concerns about the material or your progress in the course. I am very willing to help, it is your responsibility to take the first step of reaching out to me.
At NYU Abu Dhabi, a commitment to excellence, fairness, honesty, and respect within and outside the classroom is essential to maintaining the integrity of our community. By accepting membership in this community, students, faculty, and staff take responsibility for demonstrating these values in their own conduct and for recognizing and supporting these values in others. In turn, these values create a campus climate that encourages the free exchange of ideas, promotes scholarly excellence through active and creative thought, and allows community members to achieve and be recognized for achieving their highest potential.
Students should be aware that engaging in behaviors that violate the standards of academic integrity will be subject to review and may face the imposition of penalties in accordance with the procedures set out in the NYUAD policy.
The full policies and procedures relating to Academic Integrity may be found on the NYUAD Student Portal
New York University is committed to providing equal educational opportunity and participation for students with disabilities. The center works with NYU students to determine appropriate and reasonable accommodations that support equal access to a world-class education. Confidentiality is of the utmost importance. Disability-related information is never disclosed without student permission.
Find further information at: https://students.nyuad.nyu.edu/student-affairs/student-persistence/students-withdisabilities/
Contact: mosescsa@nyu.edu (this emails the center at NYU directly)
nyuad.mosescenterliasion@nyu.edu (this emails the NYUAD team)
As a university student, you may experience a range of issues that can interfere with your ability to perform academically or impact your daily functioning, such as: heightened stress; anxiety; difficulty concentrating; sleep disturbance; strained relationships; grief and loss; personal struggles. If you have any well-being or mental health concerns, please visit the Counseling Center on the ground floor of the campus center from 9am-5pm Sunday through Thursday, or schedule an appointment to meet with a counselor by calling: +971 02-628-8100, or emailing: nyuad.healthcenter@nyu.edu. If you require mental health support outside of these hours, call NYU's Wellness Exchange hotline at +971 02-628- 5555, which is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You can also utilize the Wellness Exchange mobile chat feature, details of which you can find on the student portal.
Located in the NYUAD Library, the Center for Writing is an excellent resource for you to use throughout your university career. Consultants will meet with you to discuss your writing for any writing project. They don't do the work for you—they don't edit or proofread your work or give you ideas—but they can help you figure out what you need to do in order to improve your writing. To register as a client and to schedule an appointment, go to https://nyuad.mywconline.com. It is wise to schedule appointments well in advance because appointment slots fill up.
NYU’s Policy on Academic Accommodations for Religious Holidays and Observances states that students may, without penalty, excuse themselves from academic obligations and otherwise receive a reasonable accommodation when required for religious and spiritual holidays and observances. You must notify me in advance of religious holidays or observances that might coincide with exams, assignments, or class times to schedule reasonable alternatives. Students may also contact religiousaccommodations@nyu.edu for assistance.
This is likely to change depending on the common theme and individual group projects chosen
| Week | Topic(s) | Homework | CLOs Assessed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Arduino review | Arduino review, Github and Discord accounts | 4 |
| Week 2 | Basic machines; cardboard construction techniques | Static construction | 3, 4 |
| Week 3 | Machine Considerations: constraining motion, friction | Select presentation topics; Hand crank mechanism | 3, 4 |
| Week 4 | Working with wood and metal; motors; bearings; flexible joints | Motorized Cams | 3, 4 |
| Week 5 | Tool Training | Project and teams selected; | 1, 3 |
| Week 6 | Servo motors; Power supplies; Multitasking | Door lock mechanism | 1, 2, 4 |
| Week 7 | Advanced Machine Considerations: Working with metal and plastic; Bushings and Bearings | Prototype most difficult part | 1, 2, 3, 4 |
| Week 8 | Music Maker Shield | Implement most difficult part | 1, 2, 3, 4 |
| Week 9 | Soldering, servo shield, L298 adapter | Project 20% done | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 |
| Week 10 | NeoPixels; Multitasking | Project 50% done | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 |
| Week 11 | In-class work on projects | Project 95% done | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 |
| Week 12 | In-class work on projects | Project 100% done | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 |
| Week 13 | Project integration | Project integrated into class system | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 |
| Week 14 | Project critique | Group critique | 6 |
- Arrive on time or a few minutes early
- Attend every lesson unless you are sick
- If you miss a lesson, ask a classmate to fill you in on what you missed
- Silence all notifications on your laptop, phone, and watch
- Bring a notebook to class and take notes during class
- Ask questions and participate in discussions and critique
- During in-class hands-on activities, work diligently. Once you have the basic thing working, experiment with modifications
- Start homework and projects early
- For any assignment or project, do the most difficult part first
- Document your work as you go along, writing directly in your journal. Take photographs and videos as appropriate. Draw sketches in your notebook, photograph them, and add to your journal.
- Pay attention when things go wrong. Try to understand why. Ask questions, do research on the internet. The ability to approach debugging with a logical and critical mind is a superpower.
- Aim to have your weekly assignments done two days before they are due
- Expect things to take much longer than you think. Be pleasantly surprised when they don't. Feel free to tell me that I was wrong
- Expect unexpected problems and failures. Embrace the opportunity to learn something new.
- Expect things to not work when you think they should
- Beware of the word "should", such as "this shouldn't take too long" or "this should work". Unless you've built many machine projects in the past, you have no basis for making this judgement and you are probably wrong.
- Put serious effort into solving problems, but at the same time be ready to change your design or plan to avoid the issue. Knowing when to abandon a problem and instead to develop a workaround is another superpower.
- Reach out to me early and often. I like it when students ask me questions. Don't be afraid of becoming a nuisance to me. That is my responsibility, and in all my years of teaching that has never happened.
Upon completion of the major in Interactive Media at NYU Abu Dhabi, all students are expected to have fulfilled the following:
| Program Learning Outcome (PLO) | Description |
|---|---|
| 1 | Research and Understanding: IM students will cultivate a substantive understanding of the past, present, and future landscape of Interactive Media. |
| 2 | Analytical Thinking: IM students will be challenged to answer fundamental questions relating to the field of Interactive Media. |
| 3 | Conceptual Thinking: IM students will develop conceptual skills through the use of computational and interactive media tools to create project-based work and project oriented research. |
| 4 | Critical Thinking: IM students will refine their critical thinking skills by analyzing and critiquing work in cultural, social, historical, ethical, and aesthetic contexts. |
| 5 | Technical Implementation: IM students will cultivate technical skills with contemporary media technologies to execute their coursework. |
| 6 | Creative Processes: IM students will gain the ability to explore, innovate, and realize creative ideas in multiple fields of inquiry and interest. |
| 7 | Organization and Communication: IM students will develop professional practices of delivering and sharing their work. |
| 8 | Collaboration: IM Students will gain experience in collaboration through active participation in group and team-based work. |