抖阴APP导航

抖阴APP导航’s School of Computing and Communications hosted the annual pro² Device Prototyping Summer School for the third year running, welcoming 35 delegates from across academia and industry to share best practices and gain insights from leading professionals about the prototyping process.

Running once again in July, the Device Prototyping Summer School – a collaborative effort between 抖阴APP导航’s Devices Lab and the UKRI-funded pro² Network+ – sought to bring together all with an interest in digital device production for three and a half days of hands-on workshops, demos, networking, and presentations. This year’s summer school was organised by Professors Steve Hodges and Joe Finney, alongside Dr Lorraine Underwood from 抖阴APP导航 and Maura Lydon, Matt Sutton and Sarah Hughes, members of the pro² network+ team based at the University of Bristol. It was open to both those with a substantial background in prototyping and enthusiastic newcomers, with a full itinerary of activities suitable for a range of experience levels.

Delegates were able to take full advantage of Lancaster’s world-class electrical engineering labs in practical sessions on surface-mount assembly and soldering, as well as get to grips with the nuances of coding with the University’s well-known flagship digital device, the BBC Micro:bit. The summer school also welcomed a contingent of external speakers to present keynote talks on a range of topics pertaining to device prototyping, production, and manufacturing. Speakers this year included Professor Yoshihiro Kawahara of the University of Tokyo; Dr Jonathan Fiene from Germany’s Bergsonne Labs; Nursel Dogar from Farnell and partner of the Micro:bit Educational Foundation; and Professor Paul Dietz, former Disney Imagineer and Affiliate Professor at the University of Washington.

Back by popular demand were the demo sessions, in which delegates were given the opportunity to showcase and get feedback from experts and peers on their current designs and prototypes – as well as being in with a chance to win cash prizes to help them further develop their projects. The competition this year saw 10 delegates win the runners-up prize of ?250 towards the continued development of their inventions:

• Peter Maj, Czech Technical University
• Oisín King, Ruaidhri Sinnott and Patrycja Kukielka of Technological University Dublin
• Matt Davison, Imperial College London
• Malek Arous, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universit?t München
• Dr Sharma Rahman, University of Edinburgh
• Gabby Martinez, Northeastern University
• Adam Schmidt, Imperial College London
• Ben Morris, Newcastle University
• Marco Rapaccini of Lingo Starters

This year’s winner of the ?1000 grand prize was David Gabriel of Northeastern University for his “DigIt: a wearable digital tap dance interface for musical and interactive performance”. This innovative device can be worn by dancers to control lights and audio equipment based on their movements, allowing for unique, responsive performances, or otherwise enabling tap dancers to practice using headphones in environments where dancing might otherwise be intrusive to others.

In addition to the educational aspects of the week, attendees of the Device Prototyping Summer School also had ample time to network with fellow innovators and inventors, as well as enjoy downtime over the course of the event in the form of treasure hunt-based socials and, of course, the return of the School of Computing and Communications’ house band, The Usuals as one of the evenings’ entertainment.

Commenting on the success of the Summer School, pro² Network+ Project Coordinator, Maura Lydon said: “Our third annual Device Prototyping Summer School was great fun, building on the success of previous years to offer an even more interactive event. Attendees benefitted from an excellent line-up of keynote talks, practical hands-on sessions led by experts in device prototyping, and plenty of time for networking and socialising. We're grateful to 抖阴APP导航 for once again hosting us and can't wait to return for the next summer school in 2027.”

Professor Joe Finney added: “It was fantastic to welcome people from all over the world to our third annual Summer School. It was also brilliant to have so many high-quality guest speakers this year spanning across industry, sharing their insights and knowledge to the next generation. I look forward to tracking the progress of our Summer School students to see what they create in the future.”

Anyone interested in attending future summer schools is encouraged to register for free as a member of the pro² network. Members receive periodic newsletters with details of upcoming events, funding calls, and other opportunities.