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Invention, Intellectual Property and Income

This week I will:

  • Develop a plan for dissemination of your final project.
  • Prepare drafts of your summary slide (presentation.png, 1920x1080) and video clip (presentation.mp4, 1080p HTML5, < ~minute, < ~10 MB) and put them in your website’s root directory

Learning outcomes

  • Develop a plan to share your work
  • Formulate future opportunities

Checklist

Created a dissemination plan for your final project:

  • Created a dissemination plan for your final project:

First, from the Fab Academy 2023 Assignments and Assessment: What does “dissemination plan” mean? I had the same question.

Answer: It means how will you raise awareness of your project amongst the target group. The dissemination plan might answer questions such as: who is your project for, how is it funded, is there a license you chose or something else to protect intellectual properties of your project, is there a business plan, how would you fund scaling up, etc.

Additionally, What if my project is for my personal use and/or I’m not interested in commercializing it?

Answer: That is fine. However, you should still create a dissemination plan to raise awareness of your project for other persons or groups who may be interested in it.

To begin, I am not interested in commecializing my Final Project or anything in my Fab Academy experience; this journey was for learning about digital fabrication. I hope you will be encouraged to learn more about digital fabrication and explore this world of creativity.

There is a message within and about this Final Project that I have discovered and wish to share. If this applies to you, I hope to make your journey better.

When I heard about a Fab Lab in 2016, I was intrigued and searched deeper for the meaning; I found that a Fab Lab is a place filled with tools to help a maker make (almost) anything; including a Fab Lab. One of the tools is a large format computer numerically controlled (CNC) milling machine; they are capable of cutting parts from a 4ft x 8ft sheet of plywood. This tool was the hook that brought me in and keeps me. My dream has been to build a wooden sailboat. I am not much of a builder, but I have a lot of experience with computers and electronics. My thoughts have always been geared toward using the computer to do things that require skills that I don’t possess. I thought I found the answer. However, you must learn how to use these tools and you learn in the Fab Academy. I started Fab Academy in 2019 and I have been a continuing student in Fab Academy each cycle since then.

The message I have for you: If you are in the Fab Academy, choose a Final Project that uses your talents and your passion. I had the passion for making a sailboat, but I had no talents in that area other than knowing how to sail.

I set out to learn how to leverage these tools to make a boat. During my 6th cycle, I have been encouraged by my Instructors to “Keep It Simple”. Rather than making my Final Project a 1/4 scale radio controlled cardboard kayak propelled by a model aircraft-type propeller powered by a brushless DC motor, I will be focusing on the single concept of sensing water temperature and providing an output to the user; the name of the Final Project is ThermoSphere. In a future spiral, I will complete the 1/4 scale cardboard kayak that was originally intended to be a prototype of the full scale cardboard kayak, then the full scale cardboard kayak for an further future spiral.

The ThermoSphere Final Project may interest hobbyists and anglers to assist them with fishing. This project was funded as a personal expense for learning and fun. As my website shows in the footer, I am using the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Outlined future possibilities and described how to make them probabilities:

  • Outlined future possibilities and described how to make them probabilities:

As Neil mentioned in the System Integration Review discussion the ThermoSphere could be retrofitted with an o-ring to prevent leakage rather than beeswax and lanolin; this would last longer and not be so messy. This will require modifying and 3D printing the new versions of the Globe and Electronics Housing. I already fabricated an o-ring by super gluing two 50mm ID o-rings together; this worked suprizingly well, but a trough will need to be added to the Globe and Electronics Housing to prevent the o-ring from squeezing out.

The ThermoSphere can be retrofitted with the XIAO ESP32C6 and external antenna for wireless access and real-time temperature indication at a remote readout. This will require fabricating a FABCAT_v2 PCB which could have a riser to allow other types of XIAO microcontrollers.

As I mentioned above, the 1/4 scale cardboard kayak was intended to be a prototype of the full scale version. I have already modified the prototype to carry the Thermoshpere as cargo with a built-in temperature sensor. Once this version is completed I can look forward to the full-size cardboard kayak :)

Uploaded a draft summary slide:

  • Uploaded a draft summary slide and video: