Week 18 - Invention, Intellectual Property & Income
assignment
develop a plan for dissemination of your final project
prepare drafts of your summary slide (presentation.png, 1920x1080)
and video clip (presentation.mp4, 1080pHTML5, < ~minute, < ~10 MB)
and put them in your root directory
Dissemination of my final project
As a commercial product, this project is just too complicated, too big, too expensive to make and its appeal would be incredibly niche, probably reserved to skateboarders with spare cash and massive empty coffee tables. This was never intended as a commercial product.
I chose this as my project because I believed it would be really fun to make and would be a great way to apply the core skills of the Fab Academy course. I wanted to do something that was complicated as I struggle with motivation unless I'm doing something that feels exciting and like its probably a bit too much. If the project feels easily do-able, I struggle to get out of bed and get excited about it.
With that in mind, this project has already fulfilled its purpose in life. I've learnt so, so much and in so many ways I hadn't imagined. While working on this project I've made new friends and connections with makers, engineers and designers, all via the Fab Lab. Its boosted my confidence and filled me with excitement to complete beautiful projects in the future.
Sharing my project with others
I certainly won't be looking into registering intellectual property, generating income or securing funding. I don't want this to be a commercial product.
I'm sure I'll share videos of my final project at some point. I'd be flattered if anyone wanted to copy or take inspiration from anything I've done. I'd be very happy to share what I've learned and would love to see others build on it.
Future development
I can think of so many ways to develop this project further. It would not be expensive to increase its size and it would be fun to add a Z axis to the control system. Magnets could be larger which would allow larger ramps and some more complex tricks. The Z axis would also allow you to disconnect from the skateboarder and re-connect with other moving objects in the model.
As exciting as that sounds, I have no intention to do any of the above. I shall celebrate the completion of this lovely project and look forward to applying all that I've learnt in my next project. There are just a few small tweaks that I'd like to add before this project takes its permanent home in my living room:
- I will test some different types of varnish and identify the finish that minimises noise caused by the magnet dragging on the surface.
- I will add an On/Off switch and a reset button at the back, hidden from view.
- I will modify the PCB so that everything can be powered by the single 12v power supply. Currently I need to plug in the usb cable aswell.
- I will add proper USB and 5mm jack sockets at the back.
All of these changes above are to ensure a long and happy life. I'd like to be able to show people what I made and how it works. It would be a shame if I needed to get extra cables and take everything apart every time I wanted to quickly turn it on.
Licenses
I don't think I've licensed anything for this project. I've followed tutorials and linked them in each case. I'm so grateful to the community of makers who have helped and inspired me to complete this project.
Final project slide
Final project video
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