18.Applications and Implications, Project Development¶

Planning a Final Project – Delivery Robot¶

What will it do?¶

My delivery robot will be able to:

• Move forward, backward, and turn left/right using hoverboard BLDC motors.

• Detect obstacles using infrared sensors and a future LiDAR upgrade.

• Connect to a local Wi-Fi network to receive movement commands.

• Transport small items inside the storage compartment I designed.

• Be controlled through a web-based interface running on the ESP32.

• In future upgrades, navigate autonomously using ROS2, SLAM, and Jetson Nano.

Who’s done what beforehand?¶

Delivery robots exist in many forms — such as Starship, Amazon Scout, and campus autonomous delivery robots. Fab Academy students also created similar AGV/AMR robots before, but my approach uses a hoverboard motor driver, custom-made PCB, and ESP32-based wireless control, making it different.

What sources will you use?¶

• Datasheets of ESP32-WROOM-32U, step-down converters, sensors, and BLDC controller pins.

• Documentation for hoverboard firmware reverse-engineering (open source projects).

• Fab Academy archives (robotics, AGVs, CNC machining, and networking).

• YouTube tutorials, GitHub repositories, and ESP-IDF documentation.

What will you design?¶

I will design:

• A custom electronic control PCB (ESP32 + connectors for servo, UART, sensors).

• A complete delivery robot chassis (Fusion).

• Mounts for sensors, LiDAR (future), and electronics.

• Web interface and control firmware in ESP-IDF (C language).

What materials and components will be used?¶

• PLA filament (10 spools from Pinduoduo) for all 3D-printed parts.

• Hoverboard BLDC motors + original hoverboard driver board.

• ESP32-WROOM-32U for wireless control.

• Step-down converters for stable power supply.

• 15V battery from hoverboard → converted to 5V/3.3V.

• IR sensors (E18-D80NK).

• Custom-milled PCB (FR1).

• Screws, bearings, cables, connectors.

Where will they come from?¶

• Electronics: AliExpress, Pinduoduo, Local Stores.

• PLA filament: Pinduoduo.

• Hoverboard motors + battery: local marketplace.

• PCB material and CNC tools: Fab Lab.

• Screws, nuts, and small hardware: local shops.

What parts and systems will be made?¶

I will fabricate:

• The robot’s chassis (CNC machined from wood).

• All 3D-printed mechanical parts (PLA).

• My custom PCB (milled from FR1).

• Sensor mounts, electronics holders, and structural frames.

Software systems:

• ESP32 firmware (ESP-IDF) for web server + UART protocol.

• Web interface for robot control.

What processes will be used?¶

• Fusion → 3D modeling of robot chassis.

• CNC routing → wooden chassis.

• 3D printing → structural parts, mounts, brackets.

• KiCad → PCB design.

• Mods + SRM-20 → PCB milling.

• Soldering → assembling PCB and wiring.

• ESP-IDF → firmware development.

• Web development → HTML for control interface.

What questions need to be answered?¶

Will the hoverboard motors remain stable under load?

Is Wi-Fi connection reliable in larger spaces?

Will ESP32 → Hoverboard UART communication remain stable?

Does the chassis design properly support weight distribution?

Are the IR sensors accurate enough for safety?

What improvements are needed for future autonomous navigation?

How will it be evaluated?¶

• The robot should successfully move in all directions through the web interface.

• It must transport items safely in the storage box.

• ESP32 should maintain a stable Wi-Fi AP and respond instantly.

• PCB must work reliably without overheating or noise.

• IR sensors must detect obstacles correctly.

• Structure must be strong and durable.

Reflection¶

When I first heard that our university’s Technopark — a two-floor building equipped with a full Fab Lab that follows global Fab Lab standards — would host Fab Academy, I honestly didn’t believe it. I thought it was impossible. Only later did I realize that it was real, and that I would actually be studying here.

In the beginning, I expected new lectures and tasks, but I did not understand how big and intensive this journey would be. The hardest challenge for me was the English language. My English level was weak, and listening to lectures with different accents made it even more difficult. Another challenge was the lack of some components during certain weeks — sometimes we simply did not have enough materials. But despite all of this, I always stayed motivated and open to learning new things.

I never had a moment when I wanted to give up. Not even once. I always kept pushing forward. Of course, some weeks were extremely difficult, but quitting was never an option for me. What kept me going was my long-term goal: to build my own products and work abroad in embedded systems, IoT, or robotics. Fab Academy gave me the chance to learn how to design and mill my own PCB, and this alone was incredibly valuable to me.

When I was a school student, programming, Arduino, 3D printing, and robotics competitions were very difficult for me. I often failed and could not win competitions. But several years later, after countless nights of self-study, I began to win first places. At university, I learned ROS, STM32, ESP32, and programming in pure C and C++. All of this came from sleepless nights and months of practice. Now I want to create robotics courses, teach ROS, microcontrollers, and machine control — to help others overcome the challenges I had.

Throughout Fab Academy, I learned a huge amount: working with CNC machines, designing PCBs, milling boards, understanding materials, and building complete systems from scratch. But I also learned discipline — pushing myself forward even when I felt tired or unmotivated.

This course changed me. I became more responsible, more confident, and more capable. Writing this reflection made me emotional, because I realized how far I have come. I am incredibly happy to be completing Fab Academy.

After this, I plan to continue studying robotics deeply — writing pure C++ ROS nodes instead of Python, programming STM32 in bare-metal LL, and working on low-level embedded systems. I already bought a LiDAR, a Jetson Orin Nano, an Intel RealSense, and a drone flight controller to continue building more advanced robots.

My goal is to work in a strong robotics company, create meaningful technology, and make the world better through robotics.

The journey is just beginning — and Fab Academy helped me take a major step forward.