A line drawing illustration of the Lancaster skyline in light blue against a navy background.

Lancaster University 2024
Device Prototyping And Production Summer School

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We’re shining the spotlight on the first ever pro² network+ Device Prototyping and Production Summer School. Led by pro² Steering Group members Professor Steve Hodges and Professor Joe Finney, the summer school took place at Lancaster University from the 10th to the 12th of July 2024.

Delegates were selected following the submission of a short paper describing a digital device which they are seeking to refine and scale for market production. Ranging from assistive technology to educational devices to the arts, the prototypes spanned a wide range of fields and industries.

Text in blue reading 'Evapinator: Bringing 'Universal Diagnostics to the Point-of-Care' on a navy background above a photo of electronic components. Below in yellow text 'Charles Anderson, Rajas Poorna, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atalanta, USA'
Text in blue reads 'Towards a 3d-printed Compliant Attachment for Guitar Straps', with a device prototype photo below and text in yellow reading 'Juan Martinez Avila, Mixed Reality Lab, University of Nottingham' at the bottom.
Text in blue reads 'Wakayima: a multimodal literacy companion for any age and ability', with a device prototype photo below and text in yellow reading 'Migisha Boyd, School of Computer Science, Swansea University' at the bottom.
Text in blue reads 'The Reflection Chair: A therapeutic tool that 'has your back' when revisiting the trauma-journey in mental healthcare', with a device prototype photo below and text in yellow reading 'Tor Alexander Bruce, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, Northumbria University' at the bottom.
Text in blue reads 'Democratised Modular Controller Production', with a device prototype photo below and text in yellow reading 'Jack Burnett, Interactive AI CDT, University of Bristol' at the bottom.
Text in blue reads 'Print and Place Isotyping Board', with a device prototype photo below and text in yellow reading 'Oliver Child, Bristol Interaction Group, University of Bristol' at the bottom.
Text in blue reads 'Dexterous End-effector for Space Operations (DEXO)', with a device prototype photo below and text in yellow reading 'Yun-Hang Cho, iForge Makerspace, University of Sheffield' at the bottom.
Text in blue reads 'Revealing Texture: A smart material approach towards dynamic, adaptable and scalable free-form tactility in devices using Azo Sol-Gel Hydrogels', with a device prototype illustration below and text in yellow reading 'Teodora Dinca, Department of Computer Science, University of Bath' at the bottom.
Text in blue reads 'Percussiano: a novel musical instrument that fuses sound and visuals', with a device prototype photo below and text in yellow reading 'Murilo Gasparetto, Master of Arts in Interaction Design, London College of Communication' at the bottom.
Text in blue reads 'Purus: The ultraportable climate control device for modern adventurers', with a device prototype photo below and text in yellow reading 'Samuel Graham, Revolv Gear, Bristol, UK' at the bottom.
Text in blue reads 'Mindfulness Interfaces', followed by green text reading 'A growing interest in HCI and interaction design towards developing technologies that support mindfulness, awareness, and self-regulation for health and wellbeing' and text in yellow reading 'Lala Guluzade, School of Computing & Communications, Lancaster University' at the bottom.
Text in blue reads 'E-Paper Schedule: A Passive, distraction free solution for personal organization', with a device prototype photo below and text in yellow reading 'James Hahn, School of Computing & communications, Lancaster University' at the bottom.
Text in blue reads 'Accelerating Molecular Electronics with Open Source Instrumentation', with a device prototype photo below and text in yellow reading 'Sam Harley, Department of Physics, Lancaster University' at the bottom.
Text in blue reads 'MouthIO: Customizable Oral User Interfaces with Integrated Sensing and Actuation', with a device prototype photo below and text in yellow reading 'Yijing Jiang: Computer Science Department, Aarhus University' at the bottom.
Text in blue reads 'Enhancing Smartwatch Efficiency with E-Paper Display and Power Harvesting Technologies', with a device prototype photo below and text in yellow reading 'Yaman Rawas Kalaji, The Bartlett Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis, University College London' at the bottom.
Text in blue reads 'Sensing pixels: Enabling novel applications with two-way displays', with a device prototype photo below and text in yellow reading 'Jan Kucera, Newcastle University' at the bottom.
Text in blue reads 'A Remote Monitoring Unit for Solar Home Systems', with a device prototype photo below and text in yellow reading 'Dr Matthew Little, Engineer, RE-Innovation, Cumbria' at the bottom.
Text in blue reads 'Huggy Bear: An Interactive Robotic Companion to Alleviate Loneliness through Embedded Programming', with a device prototype photo below and text in yellow reading 'Ling Liu, School of Design Engineering, Imperial College London' at the bottom.
Text in blue reads 'Q-RAND: Random number generation from quantum confinement semiconductors', with a device prototype photo below and text in yellow reading 'Thomas McGrath, Physics Department, Lancaster University' at the bottom.
Text in blue reads 'Advanced haptic feedback systems for mindfulness practices', with a device prototype photo below and text in yellow reading 'Kieran Newcombe, School of Computing & Communications, Lancaster University' at the bottom.
Text in blue reads 'AcceloPrint: Fabricating Accelerometers with Multi-Material 3D printing', with a device prototype photo below and text in yellow reading 'Doga Ozbek, Aarhus University, The Dept. of Computer Science, Aarhus Denmark' at the bottom.
Text in blue reads 'Loop One: A DIY design for managing wheelchair thermal comfort', with a device prototype photo below and text in yellow reading 'Andreas Polydorides, UCL Interaction Centre, University College London' at the bottom.
Text in blue reads 'A mini current amplifier and digitizer for nanopore based DNA and Protein sequencing applications' with a device prototype photo below and text in yellow reading 'Muhammad Sajeer P, University of Manchester, UK, Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore' at the bottom.
Text in blue reads 'From Prototype to Product: Scaling the Adoption of Data Physicalizations with LOOP', a device prototype photo below, and text in yellow reading 'Kim Sauve and James Nash, Computer Science, University of Bath' at the bottom.
Text in blue reads 'AetherSync: A Novel Robot to Robot communication device' with a device prototype photo below and text in yellow reading 'Hassan Shahzad, Robotics and Artificial Intelligence University College London' at the bottom.
Text in blue reads 'Cyclops: a cave photogrammetry tool' with a device prototype photo below it, and text in yellow reading 'Phil Underwood, Underwood Underground' at the bottom.
Blue text reads 'Electronics in Nature: Digital tools to explore our urban natural ecosystem', with a photo of a device prototype surrounded by plants below it and the text 'Aude Vuilliomenenet, The Bartlett, CASA, University College London' in yellow at the bottom.

Delegates

Open to everyone from novices to experts, the summer school welcomed a diverse group of individuals from academia, industry, and maker communities based in the UK and abroad. It was a great chance for delegates to connect with others beyond their usual networks, engaging with perspectives and expertise that they might not otherwise come into contact with. A shared passion for scaling device prototypes across the group fuelled great conversations across the three-day event.

A photo of the 2024 pro2 summer school attendees standing against a white brick wall, with plants in the foreground and a large screen reading 'Welcome, Summer School 2024, Lancaster University' and the pro2 logo in the background.

More about the summer school and what our delegates had to say about it:

Aude Vuilliomenet

Device Prototyping and Production — 72h Bootcamp in Lancaster

Matthew Little

2024 Summer School Review

Lancaster University

Lancaster’s SCC hosts first pro² summer school

pro² Network+

First Inaugural Device Prototyping and Production Summer School

Competition Winners

Among the papers submitted to the summer school, five £200 awards and three £1,000 awards were granted to those that showed the greatest potential for impact. The funding will go toward the further development of device prototypes.

£1000 Award Winners

A summer school prize winner poses with Steve Hodges in a computer lab.

Democratised Modular
Controller Production
Jack Burnett
 University of Bristol

Summer school prize winners pose with Steve Hodges in a computer lab.


Evapinator: Bringing ‘Universal’ Diagnostics to the Point-of-Care
Charles Anderson & Rajas Poorna
Georgia Institute of Technology

A summer school prize winner poses with Steve Hodges in a computer lab.

Wakayima: a Multimodal Literacy Companion for Any Age and Abilit
yMigisha Boyd
Swansea University

£200 Award Winners

A summer school prize winner poses with Steve Hodges in a computer lab.

Prototyping a Low-Cost, Low-Power System for Automated Monitoring of Nocturnal Insects
Jonas Beuchert
UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology

A summer school prize winner poses with Steve Hodges in a computer lab.

A Remote Monitoring Unit for Solar Home Systems
Matthew Little

 

RE-Innovation
A summer school prize winner poses with Steve Hodges in a computer lab.

Huggy Bear: An Interactive Robotic Companion to Alleviate Loneliness through Embedded Programming
Ling Liu
Imperial College London

Summer school prize winners pose with Steve Hodges in a computer lab.

From Prototype to Product: Scaling the Adoption of Data Physicalizations with LOOP
Kim Sauvé & James Nash
University of Bath

A summer school prize winner poses with Steve Hodges in a computer lab.

Electronics in Nature: Digital Tools to Explore Our Urban Natural Ecosystem
Aude Vuilliomenet
University College London

Name Institution Paper Title
Jonas Beuchert UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology Prototyping a Low-Cost, Low-Power System for Automated Monitoring of Nocturnal Insects
Migisha Boyd Swansea University Wakayima: a Multimodal Literacy Companion for Any Age and Ability
Tor Alexander Bruce Northumbria University The Reflection Chair: A Therapeutic Tool that ‘Has Your Back’ When Revisiting the Trauma-Journey in Mental Healthcare
Jack Burnett University of Bristol Democratised Modular Controller Production
Oliver Child University of Bristol Print and Place Isotyping Board
Yun-Hang Cho Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre Dexterous End-Effector for Space Operations (DEXO)
Teodora Dinca University of Bath Revealing Texture: A Smart Material Approach Towards Dynamic, Adaptable and Scalable Free-Form Tactility in Devices Using Azo Sol-Gel Hydrogels
Murilo Gasparetto London College of Communication Percussiano: A Novel Musical Instrument that Fuses Sound and Visuals
Samuel Graham Revolv Purus: The Ultraportable Climate Control Device for Modern Adventurers
Lala Guluzade Lancaster University Mindfulness Interfaces
James Frederick Hahn Lancaster University E-Paper Schedule: A Passive, Distraction-Free Solution for Personal Organization
Sam Harley Lancaster University Accelerating Molecular Electronics with Open Source Instrumentation
Yijing Jiang Aarhus University MouthIO: Customizable Oral User Interfaces with Integrated Sensing and Actuation
Jan Kučera Newcastle University Sensing Pixels: Enabling Novel Applications with Two-Way Displays
Matthew Little RE-Innovation A Remote Monitoring Unit for Solar Home Systems
Ling Liu Imperial College London Huggy Bear: An Interactive Robotic Companion to Alleviate Loneliness Through Embedded Programming
Juan Pablo Martinez Avila University of Nottingham Towards a 3D-Printed Compliant Attachment for Guitar Straps
Thomas McGrath Lancaster University Q-RAND: Random Number Generation from Quantum Confinement Semiconductors
Kieran Newcombe Lancaster University Advanced haptic feedback systems for mindfulness practices
Doga Ozbek Aarhus University, Department of Computer Science AcceloPrint: Fabricating Accelerometers with Multi-Material 3D Printing
Andreas Polydorides University College London Loop One: A DIY Design for Managing Wheelchair Thermal Comfort
Mohammad Yaman Rawas Kalaji University College London Enhancing Smartwatch Efficiency with E-Paper Display and Power Harvesting Technologies
Muhammad Sajeer Parambath University of Manchester A Mini Current Amplifier and Digitizer for Nanopore-based DNA and Protein Sequencing Applications
Kim Sauvé & James Nash University of Bath From Prototype to Product: Scaling the Adoption of Data Physicalizations with LOOP
Hassan Shahzad University College London AetherSync: A Novel Robot-to-Robot Communication Device
Phil Underwood Underwood Underground Cyclops: A Cave Photogrammetry Tool
Aude Vuilliomenet University College London Electronics in Nature: Digital Tools to Explore Our Urban Natural Ecosystem

Summer School Gallery

A person speaks into a microphone in a lecture theatre.
A person looks at a printed circuit board.
A row of four people sit in front of a desk in a computer lab with plants in the foreground.
John Hardy gives a presentation at in a lecture theatre with a desk and monitor in the foreground.
Two people sit in a computer lab holding electronics.
A group of four people stand around a small table looking at a laptop with electronic components beside it.
A person leans over a desk soldering a printed circuit board.
A person looks at a computer screen displaying coding information in a lab.
Two people play guitars at a concert.

Summer School Presenters

Black and white photo of Steve Hodges

Steve Hodges

Is an internationally recognised leader in interactive and embedded device creation. He has built and deployed prototypes at all scales, and many of these have transitioned to volume production resulting in millions of devices in market globally.

pro² network co-chair

Black and white photo of Joe Finney

Joe Finney

Is a global figure in empowering non-experts to innovate with technology, in particular helping them to learn about and build lightweight embedded systems. His work has also led to millions of embedded devices that are in daily use around the world. 

pro² network steering group member

A black and white photo of John Hardy against a blurry background, smiling and looking to the left.

John Hardy

An engineer with a research background in shape-changing devices, John Hardy went on to co-found Hardy & Ellis Inventions in Manchester. H&E Inventions is best known for their innovative use of emerging technologies like augmented reality, which they’ve leveraged to create products that bring the digital into the physical to increase engagement, reduce waste, and drive productivity.

Hardy & Ellis Inventions LTD

A black and white photo of Mandy Xiang, with a blurry background.

Mandy (Man) Xiang

Seeed Studio is a Shenzhen-based hardware platform with a mission to empower everyone to achieve their digital transformation goals. Mandy directs their ‘Fusion Service’ which provides clients with tailored support, from design and customization to production and promotion.

Director of Fusion Service at Seeed Studio

Black and white photo of Mike Fraser

 Mike Fraser

In addition to his roles as Professor and Head of School at the University of Bristol, Mike is also the Chair of the pro² network+ Steering Group. His research interests relate to how computers are made, what they are made from, and how we might support individuals with limited resources to make their own computers.

Professor of Human-Computer Interaction and Head of the School of Computer Science at the University of Bristol

A black and white photo of Steve Jones, smiling and facing the camera against a white background.

Steve Jones

Steve is an expert in PCB and PCBA manufacturing at Eurocircuits, who describe themselves as ‘an engineer’s best friend’. Eurocircuits specialises in fast turnaround for prototyping and small batch services, offering customers control, flexibility and quality from design to final assembly.

Regional Sales Manager at Eurocircuits

A black and white photo of Aron Eggens against a white background.

Aron Eggens

Aron’s research interests include software development.

PhD Student at Lancaster University.

John Vidler

John has research interests in data science and was awarded a prize for teaching by Lancaster University.

Senior Research Associate at Lancaster University.

A black and white photo of Kobi Hartley, sitting on a set of stairs with his hands clasped in front of him, smiling and facing the camera.

Kobi Hartley

Kobi’s research interests relate to the use of tools like the Jacdac and BBC micro:bit which promote prototyping as well as STEM educaiton.

Research Associate at Lancaster University.

A black and white photo of Lorraine Underwood, smiling and facing the camera.

Lorraine Underwood

Lorraine is an experienced Educator with a demonstrated history of working in the education and outreach industry. She is also a maker and author, with research interests in physical computing.

PhD Student and Senior Teaching Associate at Lancaster University.