hardware · robotics
Building the ESP32 Motor-Control Rover
The problem: most beginner robotics kits hide the control logic behind a pre-built app.
I wanted to write the motor control from scratch — understand exactly how a signal turns into
a wheel spinning at a given speed and direction.
The approach: an ESP32 dev board reads commands and drives two DC motors through an
L298N H-bridge driver, which lets the board control both speed (via PWM) and direction (by
flipping polarity) independently on each wheel. Instead of a companion app, the ESP32 hosts a
tiny web page directly from its own flash memory — open the board's IP address in any browser
on the same Wi-Fi network and a set of directional controls appears.
What broke first: the initial build drew too much current through the ESP32's own 3.3V
regulator when both motors spun at once, causing random resets. Fix was a separate power rail
for the motors, sharing only a common ground with the ESP32 — a classic embedded lesson about
not powering motors off the same rail as your logic board.
Stack: ESP32 (Arduino core, C++), L298N motor driver, PWM speed control, a lightweight
HTML/JS control page served from the board itself.
What's next: [Add: obstacle sensor / camera module / whatever the next version adds].
hardware · AI
How NoteBuddy Went From Idea to Hardware
The problem: taking notes during a live conversation means splitting attention between
listening and writing — usually losing part of both.
The approach: a credit-card-sized device that clips magnetically onto a phone, records
audio through studio-grade mics, and hands the recording off for transcription and summarization
— turning a conversation into structured notes, mind maps, and flashcards without anyone
touching a keyboard mid-conversation.
Design constraint: it had to be small enough to feel invisible. That ruled out a lot of
off-the-shelf mic modules and pushed toward a compact custom enclosure.
Status: targeting a 2026 launch — currently refining the hardware enclosure and the
summarization pipeline.
web app · social impact
Building Jaipuria Anonymous
The problem: students often don't report real issues because complaint channels aren't
actually anonymous — a name or login tied to a submission is often enough to make someone stay
quiet.
The approach: a portal with no login requirement, no stored identifying metadata
tied to a submission, and a tracking code system so a student can check on their own complaint's
status without ever revealing who they are.
Design constraint: anonymity had to be real, not just a UI promise — that shaped
what got logged on the backend from day one, not bolted on after.
web app · AI
Designing Gifté+'s Two Recommendation Modes
The problem: generic gift-recommendation sites ask five questions and return the same
list of mugs and candles for everyone.
The approach: two paths — a manual mode where the user has full control over
preferences (budget, interests, occasion), and an automatic mode that pulls in more signals,
including a face-detection path, to suggest better-fitting options with less manual input.
What's next: [Add: any planned improvements, new categories, etc.]