♥ Hardware for Good

Hello! And welcome to EC.751 / EC.793 (G) Hardware Design for International Development! This class is focused on applying upcycled electronics, electrical design, and mechatronics to problems related to the UN Sustinable Development Goals ↗ with D-Lab partners around the world. This includes exploring applications to health, energy, education, and agriculture.

Heewon Lee

Instructor, Research Scientist, MIT D-Lab

Adi Mehrotra

Instructor, MIT D-Lab; Graduate Student, MIT Department of Mechanical Engineering

What This Course is About

This course teaches electrical and electronics design in the context of emerging markets which enables both interesting applications but also specific technical challenges. We’re going to teach you a lot about how to design circuits that work robustly in harsh environments, integrate with mechanical and mechatronics systems to solve specific problems, and are scalable to the deployment phase. Electronics are finnicky, but they’re a lot of fun, so we’re glad you’re here and we hope you’ll have fun this semester! Here’s just a taste of the topics that we cover in this course:

  • PCB Design, Component Sourcing and Selection
  • Device Testing, Test Setups, and Evaluation
  • Power Converters, Rectifiers, Transformers
  • Motors, Motor Control
  • Sensors
  • Embedded Systems, Communications, IoT, and Datalogging
  • Batteries, Electrochemical Systems, Grid Power, Solar
  • Chemical Energy Storage and Conversion
  • Management, Safety, and Protection Systems and Circuits
  • Repurposing Electronics, Electronics Recycling and Upcycling

This class is project-based and lectures are generally tailored to the specific projects you’ll be working on with your community partners! Hit the button below for a PDF of the Fall 2024 syllabus!

Course Syllabus, Fall 2024

Contents of this Website

Please note that if you’re an actively enrolled student you must also have access to the canvas website to recieve announcements, submit assignments, and more. We will be using canvas for managing grades, assignments, and general course logistics. This site is focused on distributing course material and documentation. You will find many resources here for your projects that you may also share with your community partners.

Additionally, the content on this website is released open-source under creative commons ↗. So it can be shared with anyone!

Class FAQ

Cross Registration
If you attend either Harvard or Wellesley, you may cross register for this class. Please check with your specific school/department on instructions for cross registering, and please email the instructors to check class avaliability!
Technical Level of this Course

Note that this course is designed to teach you technical content, so not having a background in electronics does not necessarily disqualify you from taking this course. However, we will be posting a number of resources for you to take advantage of to get up to speed on basic electronics. We reccomend but do not enforce the following pre-requisites:

  • Arduino wiring and programming (basic)
  • Introductory electronics, ohm’s law, KVL, KCL, voltage and current rating of components, series and parallel combinations
  • Basic circuit components, voltage dividers, potentiometers, transistors, op-amps, ADCs/DACs, relays

Don’t be scared! We will post a number of resources for you to get caught up on these!

Advanced content. Please note that if you’re a student that has ample experience in electrical design, this course is STILL worth taking. We want to offer resources that help you learn considerations for designing electrical systems for developing contexts. This includes PCB design, selecting components to avoid supply chain issues, selecting components to minimize cost while maintaining robustness and functionality, and more. Please email us for more info!

🔧 Fabrication and Prototyping
Please note that as of the 2024 Fall version of this course, we do not currently have access to the D-Lab shop. This is due to high demand, and because this class is running as a pilot program for the first semester. Please let your instructors know if you have fabraction needs that include 3D Printing, Welding, CNC Machining, or other forms of fabrication ASAP so we can get you access to the right resources. Please note that shop safety training is your responsibility for 2024.
⚠ Safety
We take safety in this class seriously, especially in the world of electronics. Note that according to OSHA, most electrical systems under 50V DC are considered safe to use with minimal precautions. However, we may exercise increased precaution in this class beacuse some students may be less familiar or comfortable around electronics systems. Our policy, in general, is if you’re unsure please ask before doing anything. Electronics is hard, and unintuitive, so it’s better to ask than to hurt yourself.

Mental Health @ MIT

We care about you, and we really mean that! We know that MIT can be stressful, both because of the work-load but also because of so many other factors that make life hard. We first encourage you to visit Doing Well @ MIT which is the central hub for wellness resources. But in addition to that, please never hesistate to ask the staff if you need help, an extension, if you’re experiencing difficulty attending class, or even for matters outside class if you need help getting access to the right resources. We want this to be a safe, inviting, and inclusive learning environment for all.

Immediate Support Resources

Should you ever need it, the following phone numbers will direct you to immediate support resources for yourself, a friend, or anyone else in need.

617-253-1212

MIT Police Emergency Number, dial 100 from any campus phone, for non-emergencies please call (617) 253-2996, both avaliable 24/7

617-253-2916

Student Mental Health & Counseling Services Clinician on Call (SMHCS) avaliable 24/7

988

National Suicide & Crisis Lifeline avaliable 24/7

Special Thanks To

Special thanks goes to Libby McDonald, Nancy Adams, Libby Hsu, Ana Pantelic, Dan Sweeney, and the rest of the amazing people at MIT D-Lab. An additional thank-you goes out to our community partners Twende (Tanzania), Kulika Uganda, and Youth Social Advocacy Team (Uganda, South Sudan). Also, to any and all of the organizations we work with including Greenfoot, Green Venture, Moving Health, and the Costa Rica Hydrogen School. Finally, a special thanks goes to the Korean International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) ↗ for supporting this work.