Archita BK | Fab Academy

During Week 1, I explored four very different project ideas :
FX-E (an Iron Man-inspired helmet), Archy (a wearable desk companion), TICO (a bionic butterfly), and N.J (a mini nano jammer / handheld disc player). Each one pulled me in a different direction.

After reflecting on all four, I went with Pixeljam(pre vN.J) — the Nano Jammer.

Here's why:
N.J sits at the intersection of hardware interaction design and retro-inspired aesthetics , two things I genuinely care about. As someone with a background in software and design, building something that combines a physical interface with interactive digital output feels like the most natural bridge between where I've been and where I want to go.
It's compact, it's playful, and it's technically challenging in all the right ways.

The other ideas were exciting too, especially Archy, but N.J felt most achievable within the Fab Academy timeline while still pushing me to learn new things across electronics, fabrication, and embedded programming.

INITIAL PROJECT DECK

Project Brief Deck by archita b k

Click to see Project Tracker

Bill of Materials:

SL NO.	Item	Qty	Source	Price (₹)
1	ESP32-S3 Sense	1	Fablab Inventory	1427.00
2	Speaker	1	Amazon	131.00
3	Coreless Motor	1	Electronic Spices	39.00
4	0.91 inch OLED Display Module	1	Fablab Inventory	138.00
5	Magnetic Encoder	1	Fablab Inventory	175.00
6	Battery Charging Module Type C	1	Fablab Inventory	15.00
7	3.7V 2500mAh LiPo Rechargeable Battery	1	Hubtronics	359.00
8	Tactile Switch	1	Fablab Inventory	1.31
10	Slide Switch	1	Fablab Inventory	13.00
11	Rotary Encoder	1	Fablab Inventory	39.00
12	Micro SD Card Socket	1	Fablab Inventory	13.00
TOTAL				2350.31

Seasons of PixelJam

W14 Interface and Application Programming

W15 System Integration

W17 Applications, Implications and Project Development

W19 Final Project Development

Designing in Fusion360

My Project started with the designing of the enclosure in Fusion 360. I designed the enclosure to be ergonomic and easy to hold, with a rotating disk mechanism that allows users to select different audio samples. The enclosure also includes a slot for the OLED display and a space for the XIAO ESP32-S3 microcontroller and SD Card.

Rotating Disk Mechanism

In System Integration Week i had designed and 3D printed the rotating mechanism for my disk which upon trials i had modified, i made the magnet bearer attached to the motor take in 6 axial magnets(right) instead of 1 diametric magnet(left).

PCB Image

Eventhough the disk magnetic disk mechanism worked well, while programming the device i realized that the motor was not able to rotate slow enough to allow the magnetic force to rotate the disk even when i added a capacitor to slow down the PWM.

So i had to change the design of the mechanism with the help of Jogin, my instructor, last minute to a gear mechanism which would allow the motor to rotate the disk at a slower speed and with more torque.

PCB Image

Following is a video of the gear mechanism in action.

Different Iterations

Assembly & characteristics

I integrated the PCB, rotating disk mechanism, and enclosure design to create a functional prototype of the PixelJam device. The components were carefully arranged within the enclosure to ensure proper fit and functionality.