Building Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) or the Build course runs throughout 2021 (Semester 1 and 2). The Build course enables students to create prototype cyber-physical systems in diverse teams under academic supervision and create practitioners who have a hands-on understanding of new and emerging technological constellations and their separate components. I gain technical skills in designing, building and understanding such systems, and understanding Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) from the ‘inside’, by completing a range of lab-based projects to develop technical knowledge of systems as designed objects which embody values, emphasising the making and building. I also gain sufficient knowledge and practice to drive meaningful and accurate conversations and shape design decisions as a part of a multidisciplinary team developing new and emerging technologies through learning-by-doing. My long term goal is to develop my technical skills and understanding of how to build an AI-powered Cyber-Physical System that is more responsible, sustainable and safer.
My Build Journey started with the LED sewing circuit on the first day of our orientation (A-week), followed by skills sessions in Python, Circuits, Sensors, Data, and an introduction to Machine Learning and an individual Maker Project Semester 1. In Semester 2, I learned more about Machine Learning and its application. In this build journey, I will showcase my learning journey of skills that I’ve learned so far, including some collection of the pieces of work that I have built this year that I’m most proud of. I aim to demonstrate my key learnings from particular activities, link this learning to the Cybernetics approach, develop my reflexivity skill, and practice communicating my experience throughout this year. I also want to show the connection between courses Build & Question from Semester 1 and Build & Practice in Semester 2.
I will use the Dreyfus Model of Skill Acquisition to show all of my learning progress and development this year. I use this model because it offers simple progress over time, and I will try to plot this in a line chart to visualise each skill progression.
This build journey features the following pages where I analyse and reflect on the key moments on my learning goals and the evidence of my conceptual understanding of considerable technical skills. I choose these technical skills because they represent the most skill growth and progression that I learned, including multiple failure experiences along the way. I believe these technical skills helped me achieve my goals of having the appropriate skillset to build my own AI applications, especially for the Maker Project in Semester 1.
I continued to apply these skillsets from Semester 1 through Semester 2 with Circuits and Coding in Python when I did the Interface and CPS Project. The Machine Learning journey also continued throughout Semester 2, with the steep learning curve at the end when I used Teachable Machine for my group CPS Project. The new skill that I didn’t expect to learn this Semester 2 is Design Thinking where surprisingly and unexpectedly were the highlight of my learning journey this year.
Find out more details for these skills by clicking the links or pictures on each section below or from the drop-down menu at the top under the Cybernetics Learning Portfolio –> Building CPS.
Overall, my learning progress in Building CPS has improved from the non-existent (Novice) level for almost everything to the level that I never thought I would reach by the end of this year! This Dreyfus Model of Skill Acquisition chart provides an overview of my learning progress this year.
Thank you for reading my Build Journey 😀