✦ Where the project stands right now

This week documents the current state of the Kinetic Ambient Lamp, the plan for the coming days, and the intellectual property and dissemination decisions made for the project. Rather than describing what the project will do, this page focuses on what has been built, what still needs to happen, and what comes next.

✦ What's Working / What's Not

Working
  • CAD design
  • OLED display
  • NeoPixel system
  • Holographic concept
  • Custom PCB design
Needs Validation
  • Final hologram visibility
  • Touch sensor placement
  • WiFi interface testing
  • ESP32 communication
Not Started Yet
  • Final enclosure assembly
  • System integration test

✦ Project Timeline

Task Description Timeline Status
Protoboard integration Connect all components on a single protoboard and test full system simultaneously before manufacturing the final PCB This weekend Planned
Hologram test Test GC9A01 display with acrylic reflector at 45° and evaluate holographic effect visibility This weekend Planned
WiFi interface Deploy web server on ESP32-C6 and test remote control from phone browser This weekend Planned
Enclosure modeling Continue 3D modeling of dome, structural rings and internal supports This weekend In progress
PCB design in KiCad Design custom PCB routing all connections from protoboard into a compact board This weekend Planned
PCB fabrication Mill and solder the custom PCB at Fab Lab Puebla Next week Pending
Final assembly Assemble all 3D printed, laser cut and electronic components into the final enclosure Next week Pending
Final documentation Complete all documentation pages and record final project video Final week Pending

✦ What questions still need to be resolved

✦ Dissemination plan

The project will be shared openly following Fab Academy's open-source philosophy. The dissemination plan includes:

Channel Content
Fab Academy archive Full documentation including design files, code, BOM, and fabrication process
GitLab repository All source files — KiCad PCB, 3D models, firmware, and web interface
Project video Short demonstration video showing the lamp operating: hologram, lighting, touch and WiFi

✦ Intellectual Property

The project is released under a Creative Commons Attribution - Non Commercial - Share Alike 4.0 (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) license. This means:

All design files, firmware, and documentation will be publicly available. The project does not contain any patented processes or proprietary technologies — all components and techniques used are open source or commercially available.

✦ Future Possibilities

Future Improvement Description
Mobile App Dedicated control interface replacing the browser-based web interface
Kinetic Dome Reintroduce the servo-driven rack-and-pinion lifting mechanism explored during concept development
Audio Integration Add a microphone to enable sound-reactive lighting and holographic animations
Battery Power Replace the external power supply with a rechargeable battery for portable operation
Multiple Holograms Expand the display system to support additional animations and user-uploadable effects

✦ Final Thoughts

✦ Final Project

What have you learned

Working on this project has reinforced that the most valuable skill is not knowing how to use specific tools, but knowing how to think through a problem systematically. Each subsystem — the holographic optics, the lighting animations, the touch logic, the WiFi server — required a completely different way of approaching the problem.

I also learned that iteration is not failure. The servo-driven kinetic mechanism was removed not because it was a bad idea, but because the project became more focused and honest without it. Knowing when to simplify is as important as knowing when to add complexity.

Finally, Fab Academy taught me that documentation is part of the design. A project that cannot be understood, reproduced, or shared is incomplete, regardless of how well it works in person.