The course gives an introduction to sensors and actuators and how they can be programmed and used in a commercial embedded system (such as Arduino or Raspberry Pi). The course has a theoretical part in which different properties of sensors and actuators and their respective input and output signals are examined, as well as a practical part directed towards realisation of an interactive multi-modal installation.

After passing the course, the student should be able to

• explain basic principles of sensors and actuators
• explain the function of different sensors and actuators (e.g. ultrasonic sensors, temperature and humidity sensors, light sensors, accelerometers, magnetometers, pressure sensors, simple electrical and mechanical actuators),
• recommend appropriate sensors for implementing a specific input modality
• recommend appropriate actuators for implementing a specific output modality
• program an embedded platform
• design and program interactive applications that use sensors and actuators

in order to

• be able to use embedded platforms, sensors and actuators to design interactive applications.

In this course, slots marked as 'lecture' are classes where the teacher will convey information to the whole group of students. In 2025, we will have three lectures in person and two lectures based on videos (with quizzes), for students to consume at their own pace. Slides for all the lectures will be available by the time of the class. Some lectures will require students to prepare (this information will be available from the beginning of the course in the schedule, so students can properly plan their time). The in-person classes will not be recorded, so students are strongly encouraged to attend. 

The slot marked as 'workshop' is an in-person session where students will get/refresh some basic hands-on experience to be better equipped to take the course.

Slots marked as 'laboratory' are in-person sessions where the teachers will be available to provide assistance with the lab assignments to groups of students that work together. Each lab guide on Canvas indicate what preparation students should do before that lab session, so that they can make the most out of it. The last three sessions will be dedicated mostly to coding assistance for the final project (or catching up with unpassed labs by demonstrating the work to the teachers).

Slots marked as 'tutorial' are in-person supervision sessions where a teacher will meet a group of students that work together, to provide feedback and guidance towards the final project. Each group will only attend at their assigned slot.

Finally, the 'presentation' slot is an in-person class where the whole group of students will present their final projects to their peers and teachers, and will receive comments and questions from the audience.

The detailed plan for the learning activities will be always up-to-date in the official schedule on KTH Social, as well as on the TimeEdit platform.

No preparation is required for the first lecture, but there is some key preparation for the second class (which also happens the first week of the course). The preparation tasks will be available on Canvas from the moment the course is published, as well as mentioned in the Schedule (KTH Social and TimeEdit). The workshop before the second lecture will complement this key preparation.
Students should also be prepared to be responsive the first week of the course as they have to form groups and coordinate to pick up hardware from KTH (or buy it on their own, or contact the teachers to find some other solution).

In 2025, the MIDDLA manager is offering an optional, pre-course session online, for students who would benefit from a very basic introduction to the world of electronics. This is not officially part of the course, but it complements it, and students are more than welcome to attend. The overall content will be available on Canvas since the publication of the course, so students can judge whether they need to attend. 

There is no textbook, and the recommended readings will be linked from Canvas.

The students should have access to a device from which they can attend Zoom meetings if this were necessary, as well as to a device in which they can programme (i.e. where they can install the Arduino IDE, Processing, etc.) and use USB ports (i.e. having access to adapters and cables). Pairs of students will also need access to a smartphone to complete one of the labs.

KTH will provide basic materials such as sensors, actuators, breadboards, Arduino boards, multimeters, etc., to pairs of students that work together, but students are welcome to buy their own extra equipment to increase variety and/or have the material always available at home. Buying extra material does not influence at all the examination criteria (i.e. it is not necessary at all to get a high grade). If the multimeter's battery needs to be replaced during the course, students should buy their own batteries to do so (if this happens during the first week, students should tell the teachers as soon as possible to get them replaced via MIDDLA).

We strongly recommend the students to update Zoom to the latest version if their device allows this.

A variety of free software will be used during the course, and the instructions to install it will be available on Canvas.

Students at KTH with a permanent disability can get support during studies from Funka:

Funka - compensatory support for students with disabilities

Students without Funka support who think they may be eligible are strongly encouraged to get in contact with Funka as soon as possible.

Students with Funka support who wish to give us additional detail about their required arrangements are welcome to contact the examiner as early as they can.

A, B, C, D, E, FX, F

• LAB1 - Laboratory work, 3.0 credits, Grading scale: P, F
• PRO1 - Project, 3.0 credits, Grading scale: A, B, C, D, E, FX, F

Based on recommendation from KTH’s coordinator for disabilities, the examiner will decide how to adapt an examination for students with documented disability.

The examiner may apply another examination format when re-examining individual students.

Unless an exception is granted by the examiner, students will work in pairs towards LAB1 and PRO1, although PRO1 will require the collaboration between two pairs of students that form a group. For this reason, students should commit from the beginning of the course to complete PRO1 (and not just LAB1), in line with the ethics approach and the code of honour (see below).

To pass LAB1 or PRO1, active attendance at seminars is required (you are allowed to miss two seminars).

Passing LAB1 requires passing all the labs. Formative feedback will be given along the course, after each lab's deadline. Students can get a preliminary pass in assignments related to LAB1 (i.e. in Canvas, not in Ladok) earlier than the end of the course.

The grade in PRO1 is assigned according to the project's grading criteria, which will be available on Canvas, as part of the project assignment's description.
Note: Please notice that two lab groups that work together in a project might get different grades, since their deliverables are submitted and thus assessed separately.

Bonus points: If students pass the individual quizzes included in the video-based lectures (together with passing LAB1 and PRO1), they will get an individual bonus in their final grade (+1 in the letter scale).
It is still possible to get an A without relying on this bonus (if the project is graded as an A already).

If by the moment the examiner is ready to report the passing grades a student has not yet passed LAB1 or PRO1, they will be informed that they have 6 weeks to compensate and be then re-examined. In this case, the grade during re-examination will not be higher than an E. This restriction does not apply to students with FUNKA support that directly affect examination (e.g. flexible deadlines).

See previous section (Grading criteria/Assessment criteria)

We strongly recommend attending all the course activities, as well as watching carefully the videos of the video-based lectures (and to complete the quizzes).
Students should judge on their own whether they would benefit from attenting the introductory workshop in the first week.
If a whole project group chooses to miss a supervision meeting, they should contact their supervisor with reasonable time in advance to let them know.
The final presentations are the main examination instance of the course, so all students should attend. The date is available since students register to the course, so they should plan accordingly. If a student knows they cannot avoid missing it and have a valid reason, they should contact the examiner to arrange an alternative form of examination as soon as possible. (Students with FUNKA support related to examination should also contact the examiner if they require some adaptation.)

Additional note: The attendance criteria mentions 'seminars', which should be understood as 'lectures'.

After the deadline for the project, the examiner will assess the students' work towards LAB1 and PRO1 (and quizzes) and report the final passing grades 3 weeks later.
If a student did not achieve a passing grade for any of the course  components, the examiner will communicate that they have 6 extra weeks to compensate and be then re-examined, in order to achieve an E.
(This doesn't apply to students with FUNKA support who have flexible deadline adaptations.)

• All members of a group are responsible for the group's work.
• In any assessment, every student shall honestly disclose any help received and sources used.
• In an oral assessment, every student shall be able to present and answer questions about the entire assignment and solution.

Being responsible for the group's work is crucial to stay within the ethical approach.

This includes:

1) being responsible for the group's equipment, i.e. taking good care of the materials provided by KTH, picking them up on time, returning them on time, and being held accountable if, e.g., a component was lent to another group (stolen kits instead should be reported to the police). More details on this will be covered in the first lecture;

2) committing to work towards the final project and not just towards completing the labs.

Several changes have been implemented: 

- restocking the course in terms of sensors, actuators and general components, and increasing the variety per kit
- arranging with MIDDLA to provide students in this course with a pre-course session giving an intro to the world of electronics
- further developing lecture materials and assignments' descriptions (including the improvement of grading criteria for the project)
- reordering and adjusting lab assignments and lectures, as well as achieving a balance between in-person and video content
- removing one small lab to better fit the course to P3 being shorter than P4 (the exercise was absorbed into the workshop)
- minimising overlap between labs and project work
- simplifying deadlines (always on Fridays 5pm; only one deadline for the project)
- updating inspiring resources and curating themes/suggestions for projects
- iterating the design of the introductory workshop
- improving the protocol for grading and syncing the release of formative feedback
- consolidating pedagogical guidance for TAs
- developing quizzes that provide an individual bonus point
- providing more material on wiring and syntax
- adding one official last-minute help session the day of the deadline
- adding protected time for students to work on their projects without having other courses
- dividing supervision sessions into 2 blocks of 2 hours per week rather than 4 in a row, for teachers to be at their optimal energy level