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17. Applications and Implications, Project Development#

assignment#

assignment
Propose a final project masterpiece that integrates the range of units covered.

Your project should incorporate:

2D and 3D design
Additive and subtractive fabrication processes
Electronics design and production
Embedded microcontroller interfacing and programming
System integration and packaging.
Where possible, you should make rather than buy the parts of your project. Projects can be separate or joint, but need to show individual mastery of the skills, and be independently operable.

See Final Project Requirements for a complete list of requirements you must fulfil.

The answers to the questions in the checklist will allow you to create your BOM (Bill Of Materials).

Project Development
Complete your final project tracking your progress.
Learning outcomes
Define the scope of a project
Develop a project plan including a schedule and a bill of materials (BOM)
Track the progress of your project
Summarise and communicate the essence of your project development
Have you answered these questions?
What will it do?
Who has done what beforehand?
What will you design?
What materials and components will be used?
Where will they come from?
How much will they cost?
What parts and systems will be made?
What processes will be used?
What questions need to be answered?
How will it be evaluated?
what tasks have been completed?
what tasks remain?
what has worked? what hasn't?
what questions need to be resolved?
what will happen when?
what have you learned?

FAQ#

Q. What will it do?#

Personal Fab Academy is an autonomous cyclical system of project generation, execution, evaluation, and reward that continuously stimulates individual creativity through physical devices called fab trophies.

  • When the user selects the level of difficulty with a rotary switch, Fabtrophy generates assignments (in Markdown format) using the Google Gemini API.
  • The issue is automatically pushed to GitLab, where the user executes and submits it.
  • After submission, other Fabtrophy members monitor GitLab via Wi-Fi and cross-check the content.
  • Three or more approvals certify the issue as “complete” and points are awarded to the trophy.

This whole mechanism continues to provide users with “free creation with constraints”.

Q. Who’s done what beforehand?#

1. Fab Academy#

  • Summary
    • Established an educational system to develop individual skills through weekly assignments.
  • Differences from Fab Trophy
    • Fab Trophy features “autonomous, continuous, deadline-free assignment generation. Specifically, Fab Trophy differs from Fab Academy in that users can select their own difficulty level, perform dynamic assignment generation using LLM (Gemini), and complete execution, submission, and evaluation of assignments autonomously and in a decentralized manner. However, Fab Trophy is intended for users who have acquired skills in Fab Academy. In addition, because it utilizes Gitlab created by Fab Academy, it is dependent on Fab Academy in all aspects of skills, systems, and context.

2. EduChain: A Blockchain-based Education Data Management System#

  • Summary

    • This study proposes EduChain, a combination of private and consortium blockchains to improve trust and efficiency in the management of educational data. This will enable tamper-proofing of learning histories and certificates, data integrity checking, and error tracking.

  • Differences from Fab Trophy

    • Fab Trophy also emphasizes mutual authentication and reliability of records, but it does not merely protect history, but covers the “entire creativity-driven process” of issue generation → execution → mutual evaluation → reward granting. To ensure the reliability of point distribution, a lightweight decentralized structure of mutual monitoring among trophies is adopted, and the design is suitable for fab-like scale rather than a heavy blockchain.

3. Introduction of “AI University Lecturer” at Chiba Institute of Technology#

  • Summary
    • Chiba Institute of Technology has introduced the first “AI University Tutor” system in Japan. This system combines ChatGPT with a student learning history database to provide individually optimized interactive instruction. It also issues learning outcomes as a “Verifiable Credential” (a digital certificate that can be verified) and utilizes blockchain technology to provide a reliable learning record.
  • Differences from Fab Trophy
    • The Fab Trophy is not a replacement for a “mentor” but a device that creates the creative challenge itself. Instead of conversation-based optimization, the emphasis is on “action in manufacturing” and “evaluation cycles with others”; it differs essentially in that it functions as an external stimulator of AI-driven creation, rather than an optimizer of AI-driven learning.

4. Toshihiro Kita’s research project: Construction of a learning support system using blockchain technology for learners in developing countries#

  • Summary
    • This research project aims to build a learning support system for learners in developing countries using blockchain technology. It provides flexible learning support that can respond to diverse circumstances and explores the potential applications of blockchain technology in the field of education.
  • Differences from Fab Trophy
    • Fab Trophy also has a decentralized and autonomous philosophy, but focuses more on “continuous stimulation of creativity. In other words, rather than “providing learning opportunities,” it presents the next stage of “automatic supply of challenges and mutual validation,” and values the process of active trial-and-error by the learner itself.

Q. What sources will you use?#

Resources Purpose of use
Google Gemini API Used as LLM for issue generation
GitLab API Used for file push, commit detection, and history management
ESP32-S3Official Documents Reference to technical specifications for communication and processing
PlatformIOand Arduino Library Used as embedded development environmentUsed as embedded development environment
Fab Academy’s Issue Dataset Used as a reference for assignment design
Teresa Amabile Creativity Research Paper Theoretical background for understanding the link between issues and creativity

Q. What will you design?#

component name Function / Description
Issue Generation Logic. Prompt configuration and constraint design to send to Gemini API
Fab Trophy UI. User interface for difficulty selection
Automatic upload mechanism to GitLab. Process to automatically push md files with GitLab API
Mutual Evaluation Protocol Mutual authentication logic where other fabtrophies check and sign issues
Point System. Internal economy that rewards three behaviors: issue generation, checking, and approval.

Q. What materials and components will be used?#

component role
ESP32-S3 Central processing and communication control
OLED display Display of current status and issue title
Rotary switch Difficulty selection UI (physics)
LED For status notifications
USB power power supply
PLA Filament 3D printed material for trophy-type enclosure
Wi-Fi communication module Built in ESP32, used for GitLab and trophy-to-trophy connections

Questions and answers about BOM#

The following questions can be answered by the BOM table and will be grouped together.

Q. Where will come from?#

Q. How much will they cost?#

  • BOM | Component / Material | Quantity | Supplier | Price | |----------------------------------------------|----------------|------------------------------------------------------------|-------------| | Seeed Studio XIAO ESP32S3 | 1 piece | Akizuki Denshi | 1,300JPY | | VKLSVAN 0.96″ OLED Display (5 pieces) | 1 set | Amazon | 980JPY | | 40-pin SMD Pin Header (2×20) | 1 piece | Akizuki Denshi | 80JPY | | Potentiometer 5KΩB | 1 unit | Akizuki Denshi | 60JPY | |Knob for small volume 20mm (with flange) ABS-15| 1unit| Akizuki Denshi | 30JPY | | Acrylic Sheet 450×300×2 mm (clear) | 1 sheet | Acry-ya.com | 959JPY | | Paper Phenolic PCB FR-1 150×200×1.6 mm | 1 sheet | Yodobashi | 380JPY | | Jumper Wire Set | 1 set | Amazon.co.jp | 699JPY | | 1×40-pin SMD Female Header (2.54 mm pitch) | 1 pack (5 pcs) | Aitendo | ¥35 | | LED(5988230107F,LED ORANGE CLEAR 1206 SMD) | 1 unit | Fab Cloud Inventory | 0.21USD | | Resistors (RC1206FR-07499RL,499Ω) | 1 unit | Fab Cloud Inventory | 0.01USD | | 3D-Printed Enclosure (ABS filament only) | Approx. 50g | Bambu Lab | 170JPY | | Joystick RKJXV122400R | 1 unit | Akizuki Denshi | 190JPY | The total cost is about 4724 yen, although it is somewhat affected by the exchange rate.

Q. What parts and systems will be made?#

  • Gemini API issue generation system (C++/Arduino)
  • UI for selecting assignment difficulty (rotary switch)
  • OLED display module (displays status and generated issue title)
  • GitLab auto-submit/commit monitoring module
  • Issue check evaluation logic (Wi-Fi communication between fabtrophies)
  • Point distribution and fraud prevention system (trust structure with multiple authentication)

Q. What processes will be used?#

  • 2D/3D design (Fusion 360, Inkscape)
  • 3D printing (FDM method, PLA filament)
  • Microcontroller programming with C++ / Arduino
  • Gemini/GitLab API integration via HTTP request
  • Rotary switch input reading (GPIO)
  • Automatic Markdown file generation and push processing via API
  • Blockchain-like process:
    • Mutually signed assignment approval records
    • Each trophy issues a signed evaluation result, with three or more signatures certifying the issue as complete
    • Signature history is used for fraud checking and validation of token rewards

Q. What questions need to be answered?#

  1. is the quality and consistency of the assignments obtained from the Gemini API satisfactory?
  2. do the number of components and the depth of the assignment vary appropriately depending on the difficulty level selected?
  3. can the reliability of the monitoring and evaluation of cheating by other trophies be technically guaranteed?
  4. does the incentive structure of the point economy promote continuous user creation?
  5. how to design fallbacks in case of temporary unavailability of GitLab or Wi-Fi?

Q. How will it be evaluated?#

  • Number of issues generated and number of user accomplishments (visualized from logs)
  • Achievement rate and time by difficulty level (stored as quantitative data)
  • Mutual authentication history consistency check with other trophies
  • Satisfaction with assignment content based on user feedback
  • Self-evaluation of increased creativity (post-survey)
  • Indicators of system health, such as number and frequency of fraud detection