Skip to main content

Week 19 — Invention, Intellectual Property & Income

1. Invention Overview​

Smart FU is an interactive door decoration inspired by the traditional Chinese Fu symbol and door guardian culture.

The project started from a simple personal question: how can a Fu decoration keep its meaning of welcome and protection, while also becoming useful in modern daily life? A normal Fu decoration is beautiful, but it is static. A smart doorbell is useful, but it often looks and feels like a technical device. Smart FU tries to sit between these two worlds.

Most of the time, Smart FU behaves like a quiet decorative object. It shows Fu artwork or poster images on a color ePaper display. When a visitor arrives, they can touch a small sensor near the decoration. The system gives immediate feedback on a small OLED screen, sends the visitor event through WiFi, updates a local web dashboard, and changes the ePaper display to a visitor poster.

The core idea is not to make another commercial smart doorbell. It is to explore how a cultural object at the doorway can become interactive while still keeping its original feeling.

2. Current Implementation​

At this stage, Smart FU has been developed into a working integrated prototype. The system has three connected parts:

Hardware System​

  • Custom PCB for the XIAO ESP32-C3 visitor interaction board
  • Grove touch sensor for visitor input
  • 128 x 128 OLED display for local feedback
  • EE04 ePaper driver board with XIAO ESP32-S3
  • 7.3 inch color ePaper display for the main Fu poster
  • Laser-cut frame and 3D-printed holders for the physical structure

Software and Firmware​

  • Firmware for the C3 touch input and OLED feedback
  • Firmware for the S3 ePaper display control
  • Local Node.js Express server for shared system state
  • Web dashboard for device status and poster selection
  • Image preparation workflow for ePaper poster updates

System Integration​

The system successfully demonstrates a complete interaction flow:

  1. A visitor touches the sensor near the Fu decoration.
  2. The C3 board shows a greeting on the OLED.
  3. The C3 sends a WiFi message to the local server.
  4. The dashboard shows the visitor event.
  5. The S3 board reads the updated state and changes the ePaper poster.

This creates a responsive door object that connects physical interaction, embedded electronics, network communication, and visual output.

Smart signage systems are widely used in retail, exhibitions, and public environments for communication and navigation. However, most existing solutions are:

  • expensive and closed systems
  • dependent on proprietary software or cloud services
  • difficult to modify for non-industrial users
  • not designed for open prototyping or rapid iteration

Smart home doorbells and visitor notification systems are also common, but many of them are designed as generic products first. Smart FU starts from a different place: a traditional door decoration and the cultural meaning of welcome, protection, and threshold.

In contrast, Smart FU is a small, open, and modular prototype for makers, designers, and learning environments. It emphasizes:

  • local processing instead of cloud dependency
  • open hardware and firmware documentation
  • customizable interaction logic
  • small-scale prototyping and adaptation

4. Intellectual Property Strategy​

For Smart FU, I chose an open-source-oriented intellectual property strategy instead of a closed proprietary model.

The project is designed as a reference system and experimental platform, aligned with Fab Lab principles of sharing, learning, and iteration.

Licensing Approach​

  • Hardware design, documentation, and visual materials: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)
  • Firmware and codebase: MIT License

This structure allows:

  • free use and modification for educational and research purposes
  • attribution to the original project
  • protection from direct commercial use without permission
  • flexibility for others to reuse and learn from the code

Rationale​

This approach fits the current state of the project. Smart FU is not a finished commercial product. It is an evolving prototype that documents a process, a system architecture, and a way of connecting cultural objects with interaction design.

Sharing the project openly also makes it easier for others to study, modify, and build on it. This is important to me because the value of the project is not only the object itself, but also the knowledge behind it.

5. Dissemination Plan​

The project will be shared through multiple channels:

  • Fab Academy documentation page
  • GitHub repository with hardware files, firmware, and documentation
  • Final demo video
  • Social media platforms such as LinkedIn and maker communities
  • Possible Fab Lab exhibitions or workshops

Target Audience​

  • Fab Lab and maker communities
  • interaction designers
  • hardware prototyping practitioners
  • educators and students working with embedded systems
  • people interested in cultural objects and digital fabrication

The goal is to ensure the project is not only documented, but also accessible and reusable by others.

6. Potential Income Models​

Although Smart FU follows an open-source mindset, there are still realistic ways it could support future development. I do not see these as a business plan yet. They are possible directions if the project continues after Fab Academy.

1. Hardware Kit Model​

One possible direction is to provide assembled or semi-assembled kits for people who want to build their own version without sourcing every part separately.

  • PCB, display, and enclosure packages
  • modular Smart FU kits for makers or educators

2. Custom Installation Services​

Another direction is to adapt the system for specific spaces, especially places where a cultural or interactive entrance object makes sense.

  • exhibitions and interactive installations
  • retail or public information systems
  • event-based signage experiences

3. Education and Workshops​

Smart FU could also become a teaching project because it combines many Fab Academy topics in one object.

  • Fab Lab workshops on interactive signage systems
  • teaching embedded interaction design and hardware integration
  • small courses around ePaper, sensors, and networked devices

4. Consulting and System Integration​

The system architecture could be adapted for other small interactive display projects.

  • designing custom smart signage systems for organizations
  • adapting the Smart FU structure to specific environments

5. Community-Driven Ecosystem​

The open-source version can also grow through community use.

  • contributions from open-source developers
  • possible sponsorships or institutional collaborations
  • reuse and adaptation by other makers

7. Business Model Reflection​

One important realization this week is that Smart FU should not be forced into a traditional product-first direction too early.

At this stage, it makes more sense to follow a problem-driven approach:

  • real situations should define how the system grows
  • deployment needs should guide design decisions
  • the project should stay flexible enough to be adapted

This helps me avoid over-designing it as a product before I understand where it is most useful. For now, the project is strongest as an open prototype, a documented learning process, and a base for future experiments.

8. Future Development​

Next steps for Smart FU include:

  • improving firmware stability and interaction robustness
  • refining the enclosure for real-world use
  • expanding interaction states and system logic
  • preparing the final documentation and demo video
  • cleaning and publishing the repository for public release

Long-term directions may include:

  • multi-node signage networks
  • centralized dashboard integration
  • expanded IoT-based interaction systems

9. Reflection​

This week was less about making new hardware and more about understanding what the project is becoming.

Smart FU began as a simple idea: a digital Fu decoration that would not fade. Through the project development, it became more about the relationship between a cultural object, a visitor, and the home. The final prototype is not only a display. It is a small interaction system built around a familiar symbol.

Thinking about intellectual property and income helped me see the project more clearly. I do not want to hide the design or treat it only as a product. I want the documentation, files, and process to be useful for other people who are learning, making, or exploring similar ideas.

For me, the value of Smart FU is that it can be understood, reused, and changed by others. That fits both the Fab Academy spirit and the way I want this project to continue after the final presentation.