Introduction

This week I continued to work on my final project. On this page will further describe the circumstances of my project, and answer some specific questions.

Some questions are answered in the Final project documentations, which can be found here.

What will my project do?

My final project - an Oracle - will be making a positive random prophecy for you, so you can find an encouragement and motivation in hard times.

What has been done beforehand?

There are the traditional Chinese fortune cookies containing vague aphorisms.

Then there is the Magic 8 Ball.

But none of them are truly personalized, so that could be the novelty in this case. I also asked a Chat GPT, and it listed some options, for example the “Zoltar Machine”. Looks truly creepy. The other ones were not relevant.

Materials and components bill

Bellow is the list of all materials I used for the project. I always used the unit price simulating how much would it cost if I purchased the component alone (not in bulk). However, there were some components that you have buy as a whole even if you use only a fraction for this project - solder and rivets. What I did was I checked how much these components cost, and them I only added a part of this cost to my Bill of material (the thinking behind it is that even if I buy it for this project, I can use the rest of it for some future project).

If I were to reproduce this project, e.g. build another Oracle, I would either buy the parts from the local FabLab, or purchase them of various websites. Here are some of my favorite ones:

• For the bulk shopping I believe the DigiKey is the best and also has the largest selection. It is also quite international, meaning if someone abroad wants to reproduce your project, they can probably find DigiKey in they country, or the DigiKey has a shipping to their country
• For some specific components I like to use Aliexpress. It usually takes a long time till the components arrive, but it is very cheap and in my experience the components were a decent quality
• The is also a Slovak hardware store that I particularly like, GM Electronics, mostly because I find it a bit cheaper than DigiKey, and you can pick up the components the next day (which is superfast, and also you don’t have to pay for shipping). Slovakia only though!
• Some other honorable mentions are Amazon, Verkkokauppa, K Rauta for some things, and Alza

Process

While making the Oracle I used:

• PCB milling
• 3D printing
• Embroidery
• Sewing

And of course all the designing using CAD software.

Currently, most parts of the project are working (as documented in the Final project page), and the Oracle is giving the prophecies looking scary and all-wise. The only problematic part that is to be fixed is the eye blinking -> I am struggling with the mechanical design of that part.

Summary of the project, reflection and evaluation

At the beginning of the project, there was just a vague idea about biblically accurate angels. There were fascinating me, and I wanted to make my own, ideally one I can interact with. I also saw a project online that featured a thermal printer, and the creator was using it to print little messages for his child’s lunchbox. I found it very charming.

As I am a continuing student, I was working on this project for longer than most FA students, which made it less stressful for me. During the first year I focused more on my assignments, and second year on my final project. I have to admit this was never my only commitment, for example right now I am also writing my master’s thesis. However, I enjoyed my time spent in FabLab, learning new things and interacting with other students.

The biggest challenge was the eye blinking part. Designing something so complex was very new for me, and at the beginning I didn’t even know where to start. There were many iterations, and even the last one still has some flaws. As this was the biggest challenge, it is also the part where I learned the most - I am now more familiar with the design process, and a bit better with using CAD software.

I think the quality of my work has improved compared to my past projects. I also got a better feeling of “how long will it take me to do this or that part”. Before I thought that everything can be done quickly, now I know that there should also be some room for error and reiteration. It is also not helpful to work under stress. Maybe in past I thought that some of the Kris’s suggestions are a bit of overkill (as there are too complicated for what I’m making), but now I better understand that it is a long term investment, and (especially when I am not under time constraint) those are interesting things to learn anyway! (some are still an overkill tho :D).

It is a great feeling to make something one is proud of, and it is okay if that takes time, it is just important to stay committed.

Questions to answer

• How can I keep the “prophecies” relevant, but truly random?
• Can I use a different medium than text (for example a picture) without making an ML model or paying for API?
• How much attention should I give to the safe storing of personal data (fingerprints)?

Future adjustments

So what would make my project better, but I won’t have time to finish before final presentation?

I 3D printed the box, and because it is a large surface the corners bent upwards. It would’ve been better if I laser cut the box from white acrylic, and only 3D printed the bottom for the electronics attachments.

I did not manage to make the blinking possible - the attachments don’t work the way I hoped, even thought the servo motors work very well. I really want to make the Oracle blink later!

The prophecies are truly random even though the Oracle recognizes the different fingerprints. I would love to alter the code in a way that the prophecies would be more personalized - they would either reply to a specific request / question, or they would have a continuous theme.

I would like to make a user guide for the Oracle, either something printed, or attach a LED display that would interact with the input (for example tell you how long you should hold your finger on the fingerprint scanner pad).

Currently, the Oracle is printing its prophecies upside down. I could either change it in software to print it from bottom up rotated by 180 degrees (which would be quite complicated), or in a next iteration I could have the printer on the top of the box.

I could make the oracle even prettier and more angelic :)