This week, I worked on finalizing the circuit design. However, due to a last-minute decision to switch from PCBs to breadboards—caused by inconsistent solder connections and space constraints on the PCB—I am currently waiting for one final breadboard to arrive before completing the last zone of our final circuit. In the meantime, I dedicated time to preparing for and practicing our final presentation.
We are still on track.
Once all remaining components arrive, I plan to focus on thorough testing and ensuring that everything is functioning properly in preparation for our demo.
Throughout the design, implementation, and debugging process, I had to learn how to interface new hardware components, including NFC modules, pressure sensors, and BLE with the ESP32. I also explored MQTT for real-time data communication, React Native for mobile app development, and FastAPI for our backend services. I learned that while these components may be simple on their own, it takes a lot of coordination to make sure they all work in conjunction, which is something I am not normally used to dealing with.
To acquire this knowledge, I relied heavily on informal learning strategies. I browsed through numerous posts and GitHub issues to troubleshoot SPI and WIFI communication, and browsed forums like Stack Overflow and the Espressif community for solutions to unexpected bugs.