Lutron makes one of our favorite motorized shades, but the company also offers motorized blinds. Window blinds are considered "hard" window coverings because they consist of slats--wooden, in this case--that drop down from the top of the window (or that slide left or right, in the case of vertical blinds). The motor mounted in the headrail of the Serena blinds tilts the 2-inch slats for privacy and light control. The accumulated weight of the slats, however, makes them too heavy for the motor to lift--even though Lutron fabricates the slats from a soft, fine-grained timber called North American basswood. If you want to fully expose the window, you will need to lift the blinds by hand and pull them back down to close.

Industrial robots are primarily known from the automotive industry's production lines. The goal of this class is to present robots instead as multifunctional and flexible interfaces between the digital and the physical world that can be used for anything from innovative, large-scale fabrication to immersive virtual reality (VR) simulators. This extension beyond the robots' initial scope is enabled by new software developments that facilitate a seamless workflow from design to machine through Dynamo software and KUKA prc. Utilizing parametric design tools lets us use robots for mass customization and small lot sizes, rather than mass fabrication. The class will provide an overview on how to utilize industrial robots through Dynamo and Fusion 360 software, and present realized projects by both small to medium-size enterprises as well as international corporations.

Smart lighting is a tantalizing idea, but many models require an up-front investment in "starter packs" that usually require an additional piece of hardware beyond the light bulbs themselves. These devices--known as a gateway, hub or bridge--often price smart bulbs out of the grasp of many potential users. TP-Link is joining a small list of smart light bulb companies offering products that are trying to change that. TP-Link recently announced the LB100, LB110, and LB120 smart Wi-Fi LED bulbs. All three bulbs can be controlled by TP-Link's Kasa app for Android and iOS without the need for additional hardware.