Sketch and plan
Turn a pitch into a plan you can build: a block diagram, a pin map, a parts and power list, and the numbers each block passes along. Read off the tripwire, then drawn for your own idea.
Open it in the simulatorAll paths
Maker capstone: your own invention
Invent a gadget of your own and take it from a blank page to a shared demo: find an idea, plan it, prototype, iterate, make it robust, document it and share it, each milestone practiced on real gallery builds first.
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What you will build
3 projects, built step by step
7 lessons in 3 chapters, about 7 hours on a simulated Arduino Uno R3. Free, in your browser, every step checked by the simulator.
Iterate
Test like a skeptic, change one thing at a time, and write down what happened. Field bugs on the tripwire (a ghost at power-up, a wobbling beam, a hot attic and a cold garage), then a test log for your own build.
Open it in the simulatorShare it
Script a short demo, share the project with a Mokxi link, credit everyone you built on, and ship your write-up. Rehearsed on the tripwire, then done for your own invention.
Open it in the simulatorThe map
Chapter by chapter
Each lesson opens when the one before it is done, and each chapter ends in a project.
Chapter 1
Spark: find an idea and plan it
What makes a build worth sharing, ten ideas of your own, and a plan you could hand to a friend.
- Open320 XP
Find an idea
What makes a build worth showing off: a real problem, a clear input and output, and one moment that makes people grin. Studied on a zombie tripwire, then applied to ten ideas of your own.
0 of 6 steps
- ProjectLocked640 XP
Sketch and plan
Turn a pitch into a plan you can build: a block diagram, a pin map, a parts and power list, and the numbers each block passes along. Read off the tripwire, then drawn for your own idea.
0 of 6 steps
Chapter 2
Build: prototype and iterate
The smallest thing that works end to end, then field tests that change one thing at a time.
- Locked320 XP
Prototype
Build the smallest thing that works end to end: smoke test one block at a time, then join them. Practiced on the tripwire's sensor, display and siren, then done for your own invention.
0 of 6 steps
- ProjectLocked700 XP
Iterate
Test like a skeptic, change one thing at a time, and write down what happened. Field bugs on the tripwire (a ghost at power-up, a wobbling beam, a hot attic and a cold garage), then a test log for your own build.
0 of 6 steps
Chapter 3
Ship: robust, documented, shared
Survive real life, write it down so others can trust it, and put your demo out into the world.
- Locked400 XP
Make it robust
A gadget that works on your desk is not done until it survives real life: defaults that fail safe, bouncing buttons, sagging batteries and sensors that lie. Practiced on an automatic plant waterer.
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- Locked320 XP
Document
Write it down so someone else can build, fix or trust it: evidence from a full run, measured numbers, a wiring table and a README. Practiced on the plant waterer, then written for your own invention.
0 of 6 steps
- ProjectLocked580 XP
Share it
Script a short demo, share the project with a Mokxi link, credit everyone you built on, and ship your write-up. Rehearsed on the tripwire, then done for your own invention.
0 of 6 steps
Syllabus
Every lesson in the course
All 7 lessons, in order, each with what it covers. Any of them opens in the editor right away.
Spark: find an idea and plan it
- Find an ideaWhat makes a build worth showing off: a real problem, a clear input and output, and one moment that makes people grin. Studied on a zombie tripwire, then applied to ten ideas of your own.
- Sketch and planTurn a pitch into a plan you can build: a block diagram, a pin map, a parts and power list, and the numbers each block passes along. Read off the tripwire, then drawn for your own idea.
Build: prototype and iterate
- PrototypeBuild the smallest thing that works end to end: smoke test one block at a time, then join them. Practiced on the tripwire's sensor, display and siren, then done for your own invention.
- IterateTest like a skeptic, change one thing at a time, and write down what happened. Field bugs on the tripwire (a ghost at power-up, a wobbling beam, a hot attic and a cold garage), then a test log for your own build.
Ship: robust, documented, shared
- Make it robustA gadget that works on your desk is not done until it survives real life: defaults that fail safe, bouncing buttons, sagging batteries and sensors that lie. Practiced on an automatic plant waterer.
- DocumentWrite it down so someone else can build, fix or trust it: evidence from a full run, measured numbers, a wiring table and a README. Practiced on the plant waterer, then written for your own invention.
- Share itScript a short demo, share the project with a Mokxi link, credit everyone you built on, and ship your write-up. Rehearsed on the tripwire, then done for your own invention.
Kits
Build it on your bench too
Every lesson runs in the simulator with nothing to buy. When you want the real thing, these kits have the parts.
Find your kit
Pick the starter kit you own and run every lesson in its manual with the same parts on the same pins.
See every kitQuestions
About Maker capstone: your own invention
Is Maker capstone: your own invention free?
Yes. All 7 lessons of Maker capstone: your own invention are free and run in your browser, with nothing to install and no parts to buy before you start.
Do I need a real Arduino Uno R3?
No. Every lesson runs on a simulated Arduino Uno R3 with its parts on the canvas, and the simulator checks each step as you go. When you want to build it for real, the same wiring and code work on a real board.
How long does Maker capstone: your own invention take?
About 7 hours: 7 lessons in 3 chapters, each one a few short steps. Your progress is kept, so you can stop after any lesson and pick up where you left off.
What will I build?
Each chapter ends in a project that puts it together: Sketch and plan, Iterate and Share it.
Where do I start?
With "Find an idea", and each lesson builds on the one before it. New to circuits? Electronics basics is the course that starts from zero.