This site is administered by Ralph Borland. I teach occasional classes in Physical Computing in the digital arts/ new media departments of the University of Cape Town and the University of the Witwatersrand, and most recently at the University of Stellenbosch, South Africa. Physical computing involves the use of sensor devices and microcontrollers to capture information from the 'real' or physical world, and the use of that information to control other devices, including other computers. I teach its appIication mainly to art and performance.

I was introduced to the discipline as a Masters student in the Interactive Telecommunications Program (ITP) at New York University. Tom Igoe's physical computing website is one of the best resources for Physical Computing, and I recommend you consult it and check out the text book 'Physical Computing' that Tom wrote with Dan O'Sullivan, another ITP Pcomp stalwart (I've noticed that www.physicalcomputing.com is often down, so try again another time if that link doesn't work, or find the text book on Amazon).

This site is intended to direct you towards information that will help you with physical computing in South Africa. At this stage, I base my teaching around the Basic Stamp 2, a microcontroller that is easy to use without much experience with electronics. There are similar microcontrollers available which offer various other advantages and disadvantages.

If you are working in this field, or are interested in doing so, please use the message board on this site to look for collaborators or to share knowledge. Thanks to Henning at Stellenbosch University for creating and hosting the message board. Another South African art and technology forum is the listserv on atjoburg.net.

 
Ralph Borland, 10 May 2006