This week I finished defining my final project and started working on it. I realized it is a complex system, so I will follow a spiral development approach , I will build the minimum viable product first, then adding more as time allows.
Below is the complete plan: what it does, who inspired it, what I will design, materials and costs, fabrication processes, open questions, and how it will be evaluated.
Plan a final project masterpiece that integrates the range of units covered throughout Fab Academy.
An environmental monitoring system that measures indoor air quality, compares it with outdoor data, and generates both a physical and a visual response. The design is split into two attachable modules connected via pogo pins, which allows the main sensor to be portable without interrupting the system's operation.
The portable "brain" of the project. Runs independently on a LiPo battery.
A wall-powered station that charges the top module and powers the high-current components.
My project merges concepts from kinetic art, modular electronics, and environmental monitoring. I drew inspiration from these projects:
I will design a two-part modular system across three layers:
I will design the structural housing for both the base and the portable sensor module, ensuring they mate perfectly using pogo pins. I will also design the kinetic origami pattern that the servo will actuate.
I will design and manufacture two custom PCBs. The first PCB will house the XIAO ESP32-C6, the LiPo battery circuit, and the I2C sensors (ENS160 + AHT21). The second PCB will be located in the base to handle power distribution, servo motor connections, and LED/NeoPixel indicators — including pull-down safety resistors.
I will design a web interface hosted on Git using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. This dashboard will use MQTT over WebSockets to graph real-time sensor data, and use fetch() to pull outdoor air quality data from a government API for comparison.
Prices are estimates and will be updated as purchases are made.
| Category | Item | Details | Qty | Unit Price (USD) | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Microcontroller | XIAO ESP32-C6 | Seeed Studio | 1 | $7.18 | Unit Electronics |
| Air Quality Sensor | ENS160 + AHT21 Module | CO₂ + Temp/Hum | 1 | $11.49 | Unit Electronics |
| Motor | Servo MG995 | — | 1 | $5.74 | Fab Lab Inventory |
| Connectors | Pogo Pins (Spring-loaded) | — | 4 | $16.03 | Amazon MX |
| Power | LiPo Battery 3.7 V 2000 mAh | — | 1 | $13.73 | Amazon MX |
| Lighting | NeoPixel Ring / RGB LEDs | WS2812 | 1 | $8.10 | Amazon MX |
| Material | PLA Filament | — | 1 | $20.00 | InovaMarket |
| Switch | Rocker Switch (SPST) | 1-pole, 2-position | 1 | $1.15 | Steren |
| Button | Push Button (round metal) | NO / NC | 1 | $5.69 | Steren |
| Components | SMD Resistors, Pin Headers, Copper Board | Assorted | 1 | $5.00 | Fab Lab Inventory |
Estimated Total: $94.11 USD
To demonstrate individual mastery of Fab Academy skills, this project integrates:
Will the pogo pin connection be stable enough to reliably charge the LiPo battery and maintain signal integrity when the module is docked?
Can the origami structure withstand repeated physical expansion and contraction over time without the material wearing out or tearing?
Will the pull-down resistor safety mechanism respond fast enough to prevent the servo and lights from acting erratically the exact moment the top module is detached?
The project will be evaluated using a spiral development approach, establishing a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) to ensure core Fab Academy requirements are met first, with more complex integrations as secondary goals.