Week 17: Applications & Implications

Useful links:

1- Fab Academy's schedule;
2- Digikey;
3- Farnell;
4- Mouser;
5- Amazon;
6- Hobby King;
7- Fab Lab invetory;


I really looked forward this weekly assignment because it does really look like the kind of organization I feel confident with even for a journey planning.
Starting from the schedule page, I found a summary list of question to be answered to for a clear final project definition:
propose a final project that integrates the range of units covered, answering:

  • what will it do?
  • who's done what beforehand?
  • what materials and components will be required?
  • where will they come from?
  • how much will it cost?
  • what parts and systems will be made?
  • what processes will be used?
  • what tasks need to be completed?
  • what questions need to be answered?
  • what is the schedule?
  • how will it be evaluated?

projects can be separate or joint, but need to show individual mastery of the skills covered where possible, you should make rather than buy the parts of your project.

Up to now, I’ve been developing my final project into my mind, little by little, giving more and more light to its physical shape and parts but actually everything was developed during weekly assignments but I couldn’t focus on the project globally up to now. So, my work lacked homogeneity and this module revealed to be quite helpful in that.
Now let’s give an answer to all those questions!

What will it do?

My final project (which still hasn’t a proper name) is an accessory for deaf people’s everyday life provided of two main functions: one is to give visibility to their hearing problems so as to make other people approach appropriately to them, the other is to provide a consciousness about surrounding sounds with vibrational patterns. A future development would see my project made of many different items which can be worn all together or independently. By now, there are two devices communicating: there’s a bobby pin and a bracelet. On the first one there are a microphone and a servo and

see here for project purposes and concept

Who's done what beforehand?

At the beginning of the course, while wondering about the feasibility of my final project, I made myself an idea about the state of the art of topics related to mine. You can find my results here.

What materials and components will be required?

The following is a complete list of the material I need for the project:

  • Servo motor ;
  • Vibration motors x3 ;
  • PLA filament for 3D printed parts ;
  • Electret microphone ;
  • Bluetooth module x2 ;
  • Basic electronics components ;
  • Soft wood ;
  • Machinable wax
  • Liquid silicon for molds ;
  • coin battery x2 ;
  • fabrics (maybe leather);
  • sewing materials;

Where will they come from?

All the components (except for fabrics) will be within those of the inventory and I’ll need to buy one of the bluetooth module.

How much will it cost?

Except for one of the Bluetooth modules, I already have all materials in my lab, so for my final project I’ll

  • Ultra-Micro Servo motor: 2€ (from Hobby King);
  • Vibration motor: 1€ x3 (digikey);
  • PLA filament for 3D print: less than 3€
  • Electret microphone: 2€ (from Digikey) ;
  • Bluetooth module: 7€x2 (from Amazon) ;
  • Basic electronics components: less then 2€
  • Soft wood: less than 1€;
  • Machinable wax: less than 3€
  • Liquid silicon for molds: less than 3€
  • coin battery x2: 1€ (at Tiger)
  • fabrics: less than 5€;
  • sewing materials: less than 2€;

Total: 41€

What parts and systems will be made?

I will develop:

  • bracelet and bobby pin shapes
  • boards and electronics
  • bracelet interface

What processes will be used?

I will use the following processes:

  • 3D design (bobby pin, ring and bracelet);
  • 2D design (deco of bobby pin, bracelet band
  • Molding and casting (microphone case)
  • Electronic design & production (design and development of the electronics)
  • Embedded programming (Programming of microphone+servo+bluetooth and motors+bluetooth boards)
  • Interface programming (interface of various armband positions)
  • Networking and communication (the boards are bluetooth driven)
  • Output devices (servomotor, vibration motors)
  • Input devices (microphone)

What tasks need to be completed?

Both devices are almost defined and separately work, even though there’s no bluetooth module working yet.
I need to define better bobby pin’s shape and design the interface from scratch.
Finally, bluetooth exploitation has to be done.

What questions need to be answered?

  • How does the bluetooth communication works?
  • What does the microphone case looks like? can it include also other electronics of the bobby pin?
  • Should the bobby pin be made with wood or 3D printed?
  • What is the best shape for the bracelet to be worn in different ways and to be also easily connected to your pc?

What is the schedule?

  • 22nd - 28th may: design of the parts and main electronics production
  • 28th may-8th june: interface and electronics fixing and communication
  • 9th - 13th june: testing and problem solving
  • 14th june: presentation of the project

How will it be evaluated?

I will say the project correctly works if:

  • the motors vibrates in different order if a different position of the bracelet is set in the interface
  • vibrations are softer or stronger according to sounds intensity
  • the servo moves as the microphone reveals sounds

Anyway, it's quite nice and helpful to plan everything like this but it also makes you feel time expands and retract pretty like a frog tongue... And you're the mosquito that blissfully flies in the air :/
Time to work hard...HOLD ON!