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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. After 5 cycles, I have decided to make my Final Project a 1/4 scale radio controlled cardboard kayak propelled by a model aircraft-type propeller powered by a brushless DC motor. The 1/4 scale cardboard kayak was originally intended to be a prototype of the full scale cardboard kayak. The full scale cardboard kayak will be for a future spiral.

This Final Project may interest hobbyists and modelers of watercraft and aircraft or drone pilots. 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 I mentioned above, the 1/4 scale cardboard kayak was intended to be a prototype of the full scale version. This will require fabricating cardboard parts at their original size from the author dswaim.

While this would be possible with a large format laser cutter, my laser cutter is small scale. Therefore, I will be using a large format CNC machine with a drag knife to cut cardboard and make this a probability. The electronics for temperature detection and display will be the same, but the sailor with be onboard. The propulsion will be by paddle rather than a model aircraft-type propeller powered by a brushless DC motor.

Uploaded a draft summary slide:

  • Uploaded a draft summary slide:

I will upload the draft summary video when the Final Project is closer to “done.”