Week 18 – Application & Implications and Project Development

Fab Academy – Week 18

Date range: 20 - 26 May

Instructor: Neil Greshenfeld

🧠 Learning Objectives

  • Create a clear system integration plan for the final project.
  • Document the integration plan using CAD and/or sketches.
  • Implement appropriate packaging and enclosure methods.
  • Design the final project to look and feel like a finished product.
  • Document the system integration process and final assembly.
  • Link the system integration documentation from the final project page.

📋 Assignments

Individual Assignment Part A

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

Individual Assignment Part B

🛠️ Tools & Materials

  • Gemini for improving writing

📁Introduction

During this week and the week after, we are not making anything new, it's a dedicated time to focus on finishing our final "Masterpieces". So far most of my past weekly progress was aimed toward integrating it into the final peoject. I had taken a leave from work to focus on finishing the project so most of my time was spent crossing the t's and dotting the i's.

My Masterpiece

This project originated from a long-standing interest in personal health tracking. I use both a Garmin device and a Whoop band simultaneously, and I have become deeply engaged in observing the data they generate. I enjoy searching for patterns and insights within this information, as I believe the human body does not behave randomly. Instead, it operates as a form of organized chaos that subtly signals when something is off, signals that can escalate into more serious issues if ignored.

When I review my daily sleep, recovery, stress, and strain metrics, I do not simply use them to validate how I feel. Rather, I use them as a reference point to better understand and interpret my actual state. Over time, this practice has helped me become more attuned to my internal signals, even without constantly checking the wearables themselves.

From this reflection, the concept for this project emerged: to translate biometric data into a physical, ambient experience. The goal is a light box that appears to external users as a simple illuminated object in a room, but for me functions as a subtle interface to my own physiology-communicating my recovery state and signaling when it is time to wind down and prepare for sleep. As an added value, I added a feature for guided-breathing, when tapping the enclosure it will activate a breathing session for 4 minutes.

Answering the Questions

So basically, the device fetches recovery and strain for the day and the recommened bed time. reflect this information as light and and announces bed time when it's time. At first I wanted to use Google fit data so it will not be dependant on a brand of wearables, but after some research I found out that I won't be able to use Google fit as the data it grabs is either basic or in a raw form and requires a lot of interpertation. So I went with Whoop API since it was simple and free as long as I have the whoop subscription. I couldn't find any past project on fab academy's archive that does that, but I found Nadieh's project that uses LEDs almost the same way I wnated to use them. I designed and fabricated all parts of the enclousre, and also designed the electornics for a xiao esp32-s3 microcontroller. For material choices, I used what was available at the lab, MDF and Acrylic Sheets, for 3D printing I used matt PLA. Estimating the cost of bought and made parts roughly at 60USD, the Microcontroller and power brick being the most expensive pieces of the project. The device is one part, consisting of the main PCB, the LEDs panel, the piezo module and the buck converter. For making this project I used 3D printing, laser cutting and fiber laser for PCB etching. To show the Whoop data, and activate the breathing session by tapping, I can consider my goal achieved for the final project phase 1.