Final Project
The development of my final project will span the whole of Fab Academy; to help the reader navigate this page here is it in steps:Ideation | Research | Concept Development | Prototyping | Development | Final
Ideation
The first task is to think of a final project.Unfortunately, I have too many ideas. I will start by sketching them out - my hope is that as the classes go on and I learn more, I will be able to make a better decision.
Idea One
A reminder for couples in long distance relationships.
When couples are apart, they think ablout each other a lot and having reminders of them is a very good idea. There are many projects on the market for this, like the Love Box.
My idea is to create a wearable clip or tag that reads the distance apart between the couple. When the distance is shortened, the wearable can vibrate longer as the couple comes closer. Also, at regular intervals, the wearable could play a short recording of the partner's voice or another signal.
The small screen will read the distance between two paired wearables - which will be worn by the couple.
Idea Two
A completion timer for personal projects.
Calendars have been very useful over the years for people to plan projects and track them. But sometimes people just want to watch their project go from Step 1 to, say, Step 10.
A simple ten step tool can be made that everytime one step is done, the owner can press the button. This idea is inspired by the Every Day Calendar.
Here the timer is a keychain and on pressing the button in the centre, the LEDs light up one after the other.
Idea Three
A mini wind-power generator that uses the wind from moving vehicles to charge a battery.
Growing up and studying in Nigeria, I know that there are many people who don't have electricity and can't afford solar panels. My idea is to make a small wind turbine that can be clipped unto a bicycle or tricycle.
As the cycle moves, air moves in the opposite direction which can rotate the vanes of the wind turbine. The wanes will be designed in a size to generate enough Ampere-hours to power a small household.
Here, the battery is detachable and can be used to power an extension box/socket.
Idea Four
What if there was a machine that changed its output based on the input of different participants? Like a knitting machine that the loom can change by community output?
Research
I've been exploring a number of previous Fab Academy projects that are related to some of my ideas.Related to Idea One is Tammy's project. I like that project because of the mechanical design of her final project, I think the way the products also communicate is pretty great.
Related to Idea Three, are Jennifer and Nicolo. I've been exploring both their projects, especially Nicolo's, I think that the best way to develop my third idea will be to build my own generator.
Concept Development
In a long distance relationship, many couples can not go to interesting places with their partner so they go alone. A recorded diary would be beneficial to help take notes of what a partner is experiencing. When that note has been taken, it can then be played by the other person.Initially, my concept was a device that can send a signal to another one over very long distances - from one continent to another - but the best way for such a system would be GSM/GPRS but then the devices would need to have a SIM card. I didn't want the devices to be connected to wifi either as people could move around.
The system is to have the following use cases: a user can record a voice note which is then saved automatically. Recording another voice note erases the previously saved voice note. The voice note will also be able to be played.
So, the idea is to have:
- A microphone to record the sound
- A microcontroller to time how long the recording can be
- A speaker to play the recording
- A button that uses events to control modes
- A memory (SD) card to save the recordings
- LEDs that show for different modes: recording, playing
Prototyping
The assignments for Input Devices and Output Devices will serve as two spirals for me and the other parts of the work will be done progressively.Spiral 1 - Record and see sound played from the board / Week 11, Input Devices
Spiral 2 - Play sound already recorded with the same board / Week 12, Output Devices
Spiral 3 - Play sound from an SD card and save recorded sound to an SD card
Spiral 4 - Add LEDs and one or more buttons to control the recording and playing modes
Spiral 5 - Design a circular board that has all these parts and make an enclosure for the whole device
| Date | Scheduled Work | Results |
|---|---|---|
| May 5 to 11 | Input week, testing out microphone input | Microphone Test |
| May 12 to 18 | Output week, testing the speaker and saving input as .wav, networking between input and output boards | Speaker Test |
| May 19 to 25 | Interface application, saving and retrieving sound to/from SD card | Interface, final project BOM |
| May 26 to 31 | Final board design | Board |
| June 2 to 8 | Board testing, CAD | Debugging board, Enclosure design |
| June 9 to 13 | Enclosure production | Final assembly |
| June 14 | Project Presentation | Full documentation on this page |
| June 15 to 16 | Changes based on feedback | Final website |