Week 18: Applications and Implications¶
Week 18 Assignment:
- Plan a final project masterpiece that integrates the range of units covered, answering: What will it do? Who’s done what beforehand? What sources will you use? What will you design? What materials and components will be used? Where will 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?
Your project should incorporate 2D and 3D design, additive and subtractive fabrication processes, electronics design and production, embedded microcontroller design, 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
Applications and Implications¶
What will it do?¶
AWL is a wireless quiz game consoles system for communal, in-person play - no internet required.
A Raspberry Pi acts as the “master brain”, displaying questions on a big shared screen and managing the game. Three team consoles connect to the Pi over local WiFi. Each console has:
- A Raise Hand button — pressed when a team wants to answer; the Pi picks whichever team pressed first
- A / B / C / D buttons — to submit multiple-choice answers
- A 2.23” OLED screen — shows each team’s own status (correct/wrong, score, turn indicator)
- A speaker — plays game audio: correct/wrong sound effects, turn-start cue, countdown ticks, an “answer locked” confirmation, and victory music at the end
The big screen is the shared focal point so the experience feels communal. The OLED and speaker on each console give each team their own private feedback and rhythm, without pulling attention away from the room.
It’s designed for places where Kahoot-style web games don’t work — underground venues, camps, classrooms with no WiFi, family gatherings — and solves the “who raised their hand first?” problem with hardware-precise timing instead of human judgment.
Who’s done what beforehand?¶
I am inspired by Game Boy Color (red), Family 100 (Indonesian TV Program) and Kahoot! or Quizziz
-
Game Boy Color (red) — my first handheld console. It’s the reason AWL is a dedicated little device you hold in your hand, with chunky tactile buttons and a small screen, instead of yet another phone app. The form factor, the colorful plastic shell, and the feeling of holding a single-purpose console all come from here.
-
Family 100 (Indonesian TV Program) — contestants slap a buzzer to earn the right to answer. This is exactly the “raise hand first” mechanic AWL implements, just scaled to three teams playing together in a room rather than two teams/families on a TV stage.
-
Kahoot! and Quizizz — the modern reference for “questions on a big shared screen, players answer on their own devices, points scale with speed and correctness.” Beautiful UX, but the moment WiFi drops, the whole thing dies. AWL is the offline answer to the same problem.
What sources will you use?¶
-
Inspiration sources — the gameplay comes from Kahoot and Quizizz, the classroom quiz games where players answer multiple-choice questions. The “raise hand” mechanic comes from Family 100, the Indonesian TV quiz show, where the first team to buzz in gets to answer. The hardware look is inspired by my first GameBoy Color, the red one I had as a child — a handheld that feels playful and friendly to hold.
-
Technical documentation and datasheets — Seeed Studio’s XIAO ESP32-C3 wiki (pinout, WiFi antenna usage, battery charging), the MAX98357A datasheet and Adafruit’s I²S amplifier guide, the SSD1309 OLED datasheet, and the TP4056 charging module documentation.
-
Software libraries and references — the Arduino-ESP32 core, the U8g2 display library, the ESP-IDF I²S driver, FastAPI and React/Tailwind documentation for the Raspberry Pi server and big-screen frontend, and the Claude API documentation for AI-generated questions.
-
Fabrication references — KiCad documentation for schematic and PCB design, JLCPCB’s design rules and ordering guide, Fusion 360 tutorials for the enclosure and button-mold design, and 3D printing guides for the Bambu Lab printer.
-
Fab Academy resources — tutorials from the Fab Academy site, my instructor’s guidance, and past students’ final-project pages
-
Youtube videos:
- Fusion 360 Snap Fit Cases - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0NVC8xhf3I&t=1495s¶
What will you design?¶
I designed the schematic design, PCB layout design, top + bottom shell (along with all the cutouts), buttons, and also brand and visual identity (such as logo and color palette).
What materials and components will be used?¶
For the Game Consoles (Electronics)
- XIAO ESP32-C3
- 2.42” OLED display
- 4-pins female headers
- MAX98357A
- 4Ω 0.5W speaker
- Capacitors 0.1 µF + 1× 10 µF
- 12×12x10mm tactile switches
- Slide switch
- Red LED + 360Ω resistor
- LiPo 2000 mAh battery — 3.7 V
- TP4056 module
- PCB
For the Game Consoles (Top & Bottom Shell)
- Red PLA filament
- Blue PLA filament
- Yellow PLA filament
- White PLA filament
For the Game Consoles (Buttons)
- Resin
- Silicone
For the Host/Server side
- Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+
- 32GB microSD card
- USB-C power supply
- HDMI cable
- Monitor/TV for the “big screen”
Where will come from?¶
Building AWL in Shenzhen meant the whole supply chain was local: Taobao and Pinduoduo sellers (components, mostly from Shenzhen), JLCPCB (PCBs), and Chaihuo Makerspace (tools and consumables)/Seeed Studio (XIAO).
The Raspberry Pi that runs the host server and big-screen display was lent to me by my Fab Academy instructor, Matthew, for the duration of the project. It’s a Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+ with a 32-GB microSD card, USB-C power adapter, and HDMI cable. The big screen used during testing and the final demo was borrowed from Chaihuo Mkaerspace.
| Source | Description |
|---|---|
| Taobao & Pinduoduo (multiple sellers, mostly Shenzhen) | All other electronic components, batteries, filament |
| JLCPCB (Shenzhen) | 5 × custom PCBs |
| Chaihuo Makerspace (Shenzhen) | XIAO ESP32-C3 modules, 3D printing, soldering, hot air, mill, casting equipment, microSD, power supply, HDMI cable, keyboard, mouse, screen |
| Lent by my instructor (Matthew) | Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+ |
How much will they cost?¶
Pi & Game Consoles Cost Breakdown:
| Component | Description | Cost (per pc) | Qty | Total Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+ | Lent by instructor | - | - | - |
| 32-GB microSD card | Lab-provided | - | - | - |
| Power Supply | Lab-provided | - | - | - |
| HDMI Cable | Lab-provided | - | - | - |
| Keyboard & Mouse | Lab-provided | - | - | - |
| Screen | Lab-provided | - | - | - |
| Component | Description | Cost (per pc) | Qty | Total Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| XIAO ESP32-C3 | Lab-provided | - | - | - |
| OLED Display 2.42” | 128x64, 4 pins | ¥56.00 | 3 | ¥168.00 |
| LiPo Battery 2000mAh | ¥19.80 | 3 | ¥59.40 | |
| Speaker 4Ω | ¥4.30 | 3 | ¥12.90 | |
| MAX98357A | Amplifier, I2S | ¥3.74 | 3 | ¥11.22 |
| TP4056 USB-C | with protection | ¥0.75 | 3 | ¥2.25 |
| Buttons | 12x12x10mm | ¥0.10 | 15 | ¥1.50 |
| Pin Socket (5pcs) | 2.54mm 4P (right) | ¥2.80 | 1 | ¥2.80 |
| Button Slider (5pcs) | through-hole, 3 pins | ¥1.56 | 1 | ¥1.56 |
| Bambu Lab PLA Matte | Red - 11200 | ¥69.00 | 1 | ¥69.00 |
| Bambu Lab PLA Matte | Yellow - 11400 | ¥57.30 | 1 | ¥57.30 |
| Bambu Lab PLA Matte | Blue - 11600 | ¥57.30 | 1 | ¥57.30 |
| Bambu Lab PLA Matte | from a friend | - | - | - |
| JLCPCB PCB (5pcs) | $4.24 | ¥28.81 | 1 | ¥28.81 |
| LED | Lab-provided | - | - | - |
| 360Ω resistor (100pcs) | ¥3.00 | 1 | ¥3.00 | |
| Capacitor 0.1UF (50pcs) | ¥3.00 | 1 | ¥3.00 | |
| Capacitor 10UF (20pcs) | ¥4.60 | 1 | ¥4.60 |
Taobao and Pinduoduo Links:
Bambu Lab PLA Matte (Red - 11200)
Bambu Lab PLA Matte (Yellow - 11400)
Bambu Lab PLA Matte (Blue - 11600)
What parts and systems will be made?¶
| Learning | What I made for AWL |
|---|---|
| 2D Design | Cardboard box design |
| 3D Design | Fusion 360 console enclosure + mold |
| Additive fabrication | 3D-printed enclosures + mold |
| Subtractive fabrication | Laser cutting the cardboard box |
| Electronics design | KiCad schematic, PCB layout design |
| Electronics production | CNC-milled prototype + JLCPCB production + hand-soldering |
| Embedded microcontroller | ESP32-C3 firmware |
| Interfacing & programming | WebSocket protocol, OLED, audio, buttons, WiFi |
| System integration & packaging | Assembled consoles + host server + working game |
What processes will be used?¶
- KiCad — schematic + PCB design
- JLCPCB — PCB fabrication
- Fusion 360 — enclosure + button mold design
- Bambu Studio - 3D print slicing
- Bambu Lab printer — 3D printing the enclosure
- KEXU CNC mill — milling the prototype PCB
- Silicone — molding & casting button caps
- Arduino IDE — embedded firmware
- VS Code — documentation
- Adobe Illustrator - logo and brand design
What questions need to be answered?¶
- Can 3 controllers connect to the Raspberry Pi reliably over a local WiFi network, with no internet?
- Can the antenna (XIAO ESP32-C3) works inside the shell? Will the WiFi range be good enough across a whole room, using the antenna?
- Is the first-press arbitration fair? The Pi compares millisecond timestamps — is WiFi latency small and consistent enough that the team who really pressed first actually wins?
- Will one battery charge last a full play session?
- Will the speaker be loud and clear enough to be heard during a noisy group game?
- Can all the components — PCB, battery, speaker, OLED — fit inside the enclosure, and will the case survive being held and passed around?
- What is the best way to assemble the case: heat-set inserts or plain screws?
- Can the Pi generate good quiz questions through the Claude API and display them clearly on the big screen with a live scoreboard?
How will it be evaluated?¶
-
Functional criteria
the project is successful if all 3 controllers connect to the Pi and play a full game without crashing or disconnecting; if first-press arbitration consistently picks the team that pressed first; if each controller plays the correct sound effects and shows team status on its OLED; if the big screen displays the question, the four answer options, and an updating scoreboard; if a controller runs on battery for a full session and recharges over USB-C; and if the enclosure holds all components, all 5 buttons work, and it is comfortable to hold.
-
Playtest
the real test is having 3 teams play a complete quiz game together, from start screen to final rankings. I will watch whether the game feels fair, fun, and easy to understand, and collect feedback on the buttons, sound, and screen.
References