As part of my core module, Innovation Made Possible (IMP), we were tasked to come up with ideas to solve various problems in society.
My group thought of ways to ensure that the surrounding temperature and ventilation at study areas would be comfortable for studying anytime. Our idea was RoboFan, a smart robotic fan that was able to move around automatically. Additionally, it came with a touchscreen that would allow the user to change the fan settings, as well as get some useful information about the Ngee Ann Poly campus, and even book campus facilities.
Our prototype was physical, and included some interactive elements. During the making of the prototype, I worked closely with my groupmates. I was in charge of the electronic components within the prototype. There were two electronic systems in the prototype, one for the fan and one for movement. The fan's system involved an ESP32, and the screen connects to it via Bluetooth. The app on the screen sends out commands to the ESP32 to change fan speeds and other settings. For the movement system, an infrared TV remote was used to control the movement of the robot (left, right, back, forward). The wheels are connected to four DC motors, which are controlled by an Arduino using an L298N driver.
This project gave me a taste of the product development lifecycle: first understanding the issue through surveys and interviews, then brainstorming ideas to address these pain points, before working on the prototype and continuously refining it based on user feedback.
