Assignment

This week focused on planning how I will share, license, and continue developing my final project. The assignment was to develop a plan for dissemination of the final project and to complete the project while tracking progress.

My final project is Duello, a wireless competitive learning device for middle school students. It uses two ESP32-C3 based quiz devices that communicate over Wi-Fi. Each device has four physical A/B/C/D buttons, a 1.5 inch RGB OLED screen, a LiPo battery, a custom PCB, and a custom enclosure.

Dissemination Plan

I plan to share Duello as an open-source educational project. The goal is for other students, teachers, and Fab Lab members to understand, reproduce, and improve the project.

I will share the project through:

• my Fab Academy documentation page
• my Fab Academy GitLab repository
• final project photos
• a short demo video
• a final presentation slide
• source code
• CAD files
• PCB design files
• fabrication files
• bill of materials
• assembly notes

The project can be useful for Fab Labs, schools, and teachers who want to make classroom learning more interactive using physical devices instead of only phones or computers.

License

I will use two licenses:

I chose the MIT License for the code because it is simple and allows others to use, modify, and build on the software.

I chose Creative Commons BY-SA 4.0 for the design and documentation files because it allows others to share and adapt the project, as long as they give credit and share their changes under similar terms.

What tasks have been completed?

The main completed tasks are:

• designed the 3D-printed base in Fusion 360
• designed the laser-cut plywood cover
• exported the cover from Fusion 360 and edited it in Illustrator
• cut the cover using the xTool P3
• printed the base using the Bambu Lab A1
• vinyl-cut the white A/B/C/D button labels
• designed the custom ESP32-C3 PCB in KiCad
• milled the PCB using the Roland SRM-20
• soldered the electronic components
• added the ESP32-C3 Super Mini
• connected the 1.5 inch RGB OLED screen
• connected the four push buttons
• wired the buttons using a shared ground
• crimped the button and OLED cables
• added the LiPo battery power system
• added the on/off slide switch
• added the 100 µF 25 V capacitor near the battery input
• mounted the PCB with double-sided 3M mounting tape
• assembled the base and cover using magnets
• programmed the host device
• programmed the player/client device
• tested OLED output
• tested button input
• tested battery power
• tested Wi-Fi communication
• tested the two-device game flow
• tested the full quiz system
• performed a shake test
• performed a drop test from about 100 cm

What tasks remain?

The main remaining tasks are:

• improve the final documentation
• add final photos and hero shots
• add the final system diagram
• add the final demo video
• prepare presentation.png
• prepare presentation.mp4
• make sure both files are linked correctly in the final presentation schedule
• clean and organize the GitLab repository
• upload final design files
• upload final code files
• upload final PCB files
• polish the final project page
• improve small user experience details if time allows

What’s working?

The main working parts are:

• the device turns on using the LiPo battery
• the slide switch turns the device on and off
• the OLED screen works
• the four push buttons work
• the button inputs are detected using INPUT_PULLUP
• the shared-ground button wiring works
• the host ESP32-C3 creates a Wi-Fi access point
• the second ESP32-C3 connects to the host device
• the host device serves the quiz state
• the player device receives the quiz state
• both devices display the quiz questions
• both players can answer with physical buttons
• the system calculates points based on answer speed and correctness
• the system shows round results
• the system shows final scores and the winner
• the enclosure holds the electronics
• the magnets connect the cover and base
• the device survived the shake test
• the device survived the drop test

What’s not working perfectly?

The main things that are not perfect yet are:

• exact timing synchronization between the two devices over Wi-Fi
• small user experience details
• final polish of the interface
• final organization of documentation and files

The current prototype is fully playable, but the timing between the two devices is not perfectly synchronized at a professional level. For the Fab Academy prototype, it is good enough to demonstrate the concept and system integration.

What questions need to be resolved?

The main remaining questions are:

• How can the timing synchronization between devices be improved?
• How can the interface be made clearer for middle school students?
• Should future versions support more than two players?
• Should future versions include a teacher dashboard?
• Should questions be editable without changing the code?
• Should the device include sound or buzzer feedback?
• Should the device use a larger screen in the future?
• Should the battery charging and protection system be improved in a future PCB version?

What will happen when?

What have you learned?

Through this project, I learned how difficult final system integration is. Making each part work separately is much easier than making everything work together inside one finished enclosure.

I learned how to combine:

• 3D design
• 3D printing
• laser cutting
• vinyl cutting
• PCB design
• PCB milling
• soldering
• crimping
• embedded programming
• networking
• battery power
• packaging
• testing

I also learned the importance of spiral development. I first tested buttons, then the OLED, then Wi-Fi, then the game logic, and finally the complete assembled system. This made the project easier to debug.

The most important lesson was that a final project is not only about making parts. It is about making a complete system that works reliably as one object.

Future Development

In future versions, I would like to improve Duello by adding:

• teacher dashboard
• question editor
• more than two players
• sound or buzzer feedback
• better timing synchronization
• larger screen
• improved battery management
• more polished enclosure design
• easier assembly
• classroom-ready question sets

These improvements would make Duello easier to use in real classroom environments.

Conclusion

Duello is an open-source wireless learning device that combines physical interaction with competitive classroom learning. It demonstrates the Fab Academy skills of designing, fabricating, programming, networking, and integrating a complete system.

The final project is independently operable, battery powered, and designed around a real use case: two middle school students competing in a teacher-programmed quiz game.