My final project for Fab Academy 2021 was the "Personality Box", a playful mechanical-electronic creation that simulates behavior and reactions as if it has a "personality." It's a wooden box with a switch on top, and whenever someone tries to turn it on, the box reacts by opening its lid and using an internal arm to switch itself off again—as if it's refusing to cooperate.
This is inspired by the classic "Useless Machine" but pushed further by designing expressive movement and adding structure for future expansion.
The concept came from a curiosity: "Can a machine feel stubborn? Can it interact with you emotionally through simple movement?"
By giving personality to an object with very limited capabilities (a box, a switch, and two servo motors), I wanted to explore how human-like behavior can emerge from clever design and timing.
| Component | Quantity | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 3mm MDF sheets | 1 sheet | Laser cut for full enclosure & panel structure |
| Arduino Nano | 1 | Brain of the system |
| Servo Motors (SG90) | 2 | One for lid, one for switch handle |
| Toggle Switch (Red cap) | 1 | The user input trigger |
| Jumper wires | Many | Used for all electrical connections |
| Breadboard/PCB base | 1 | For clean, mounted circuit |
| USB Cable + Power | 1 | For uploading and powering the board |
The heart of the system is the Arduino Nano. I programmed it to read the state of the switch and trigger specific servo movements.
Everything was modeled in Fusion 360, including:
The lid uses metal hinges and rotates cleanly thanks to bracket tolerances. I glued the box with wood adhesive and tested the lid motion before securing the servos.
The code focuses on "emotion through delay." After pressing the switch, the box pauses, thinks (delay), opens slowly, then reacts with a quick servo snap.
📷 INSERT: Screenshot or embed of Arduino code