Kinetic art and embedded systems

We describe a cross-disciplinary collaborative course that pairs computer science and engineering (CSE) students with art students to engage in joint engineering design and creative studio projects. These projects combine embedded system design with sculpture to create kinetic art. We believe that this is a natural pairing of two disparate disciplines, and one that provides distinct educational benefits to both groups of students. In this paper we describe the course content, the collaborative process, the materials used in the class, and experience with a pilot version of the course taught in Fall 2009 the University of Utah.