Targeted Students:
Conjunction of Design and Biological Science departments, with equal number of students from each. The ideal number of students for the class would be around 20, so about 10 from each dept. A smaller group would allow the realization of actual projects, and more communication among peers. (The class should not exceed 30 students).
Covered Material:
Historical overview of body and design relationship - Such topics to cover are plastic/reconstructive surgery, early prosthetics and what spawned their development.
How technology is represented and perceived, primarily through Hollywood. How do these movies guide as to what is possible and desirable for the future.
Implementation will be an ongoing discussion. What materials are safe for the human body, what shape and feel do prosthetics need to have in order to satisfy the user.
Real world examples will definitely guide the course by showing what is possible at the moment, but more importantly, what the future will inevitable go towards.
Interface/Interface Design. The wearer must use the device and not the device control the wearer. What types of interface are good - barcode implants, biological enhancement, aesthetic enhancement, and prosthetics.
Cadaver studies are an intrinsic part of this course. One must know how the body is shaped in order to effectively design objects that work successfully.
Instructors:
Two instructors are desirable for this course. One should be a design
oriented instructor that in capable of manipulating many materials and
many fabrication techniques. The other instructor must have a background
in human medicine and preferably one that has more experience as a general
practitioner in order to assist projects for all areas of the body. Both
instructors would be invaluable if they had experience in both the design
and medicine worlds. Hopefully each instructor would have enough contacts
in the professional world in order to bring in specialists to help students
with their specific projects.
Required Materials:
The materials needed are dependent on whatever project the student teams
choose. Probable materials include (but are not limited to): plastics,
steel, aluminum, titanium, computer chip programming.
A full workshop is a must for this course with all the necessary welding,
machining, casting and manufacturing space.
Computer labs are also required. The focus will be on 3D modeling software.
Anatomy labs are also a necessity. Any access to view autopsies or partake
in human dissections would be invaluable to the students' work.
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