Skip to content
MakerBuddy
Home

Who it's for

For StudentsFor SchoolsFor TeachersFor ParentsFor MakerspacesFor Professionals

Resources

CurriculumProject IdeasTechnical DetailsDocumentationBlog

Community

EventsDiscordWhatsApp CommunityContact
Chrome ExtensionOpen Web AppGet the Kit

Week 31 · Term 4 · 45 to 60 minutes

Capstone Project Design & Troubleshooting

Integration, testing and debugging

Try it first, no kit needed

Capstone Project Design & Troubleshooting

Week 31 Term 4 45-60 minutes

Learning Objective

Begin planning your final MakerBuddy Expo project using Design Thinking. Learn a professional 4-step troubleshooting process to isolate and fix bugs in wiring, sensors, and Rule Engine logic.

Theory: Design Thinking + Debugging

Students planning, building, testing and presenting an IoT project

Your checklist: plan, build safely, test with evidence, then get ready to explain it.

The Capstone Project

Your Capstone Project puts this year's skills into one automated system. Before they build, engineers follow a process called Design Thinking:

🤔

1. Empathize

Who are you building this for? What problem do they have?
"My grandma forgets to water her plants."

💡

2. Ideate

Brainstorm ideas. How could MakerBuddy help?
"Alert her when the soil is too dry!"

📋

3. Plan

Draw a State Diagram. List your sensors and actuators. Write down every rule.

🔧

4. Prototype

Wire it up and build the rules in the Rule Engine. Test, fix, repeat!

The Art of Troubleshooting

A big project often fails on the first try. That is completely normal! Find the problem one step at a time. Always start from the bottom (power) and work up to the logic:

1
Check Power — Is the USB cable pushed firmly into the ESP32's socket and into a working USB port or charger? Does the WebApp connect? If the LCD is plugged in, it shows your Wi-Fi name and IP address at start-up. No power means nothing works.
2
Check the Inputs (Sensors) — Open the Dashboard. Cover, turn, warm or wave at each sensor: does its value change? Wait 2–3 seconds, because the dashboard updates about every 2 seconds. Temperature (DHT) at 0.0 means the DHT11 isn't being read. A Distance that never changes means no echo is coming back. If a value never changes, unplug the USB cable and check that connection.
3
Check the Outputs (Actuators) — Can you switch the LED, Relay, Servo or Buzzer from the Dashboard? If a card says “This control is used by Rule Engine. Manual control is overridden.”, first press ⏹️ on the rule that uses it. The LED, RGB LED and buzzer are built into the board. If a plug-in part like the relay or servo still doesn't respond, unplug the USB cable and check its connector.
4
Check the Logic (Rule Engine) — If everything works manually, the bug is in your rules. Are the thresholds right? Is the operator > when it should be <? Did you pick the right action (⚡ Relay On, not ⚡ Relay Off)? Is the rule watching or running (👁️ Monitoring or ▶️ Running), not 🛑 Manually Stopped or ⏸️ Stopped? Does another rule use the same output?

For Teachers

Let students help each other troubleshoot. Explaining a bug out loud, called "Rubber Duck Debugging", makes you see it fresh and often reveals the answer.

Activity: Project Planning Phase

Today you plan. You must get your project approved before you build. Use this template:

Project Proposal Template:

  1. Pick a Theme: a Smart Home device, a Security System, an Environmental Monitor, or something creative like a game or art piece.
  2. Write the Problem Statement: "My [user] has a problem with [problem]. My MakerBuddy will [solution]."
  3. List the Components: Which sensors and outputs will you use? For example: Soil Moisture sensor → Buzzer On + LCD display.
  4. List Every Rule (a MakerBuddy holds at most 10 rules, each with up to 10 steps). Write each one like this:
    "If [Sensor] [Operator] [Threshold] → Action: [exact action name], Delay: [X] ms"
  5. Draw the State Diagram: Sketch the logic on paper with circles and arrows.
  6. Get Teacher Approval: Show your plan. Once it is approved, start building straight away: your project must work on Expo day (Week 32).

Try It: The Bug Hunt Sandbox

Interactive demo · no kit needed

Play with a pretend MakerBuddy board and its web page, right here.

Follow the steps one at a time. Got the kit? You can switch to the real board inside.

Challenge: The Bug Hunt

Find the Missing Link

A friend asks for help: "My fan should turn on when it gets hot, but it's not working!"

You open the Dashboard: Temperature (DHT) reads 35.0 °C. The Relay card is locked by their rule, so you press ⏹️ on the rule. Then you flip the Relay On/Off switch, and the fan turns on! So power and wiring are fine.

Their rule says:

If Temperature (DHT11) < 30 → Relay On, Delay: 100 ms
  • Which troubleshooting step (1–4) told you the bug was in the Rule Engine, not the wiring?
  • What is the exact bug in the rule above?
  • Write the fixed rule with the right operator and exact action names.

Coming Up Next Week:

Week 32: The MakerBuddy Expo — Presentation day! Show everything you've built.

Learning Support

Use this quick guide to help every learner understand, practice and explain Capstone Project Design & Troubleshooting.

For students

Try it in three steps

  1. Say it: explain the main idea in one simple sentence.
  2. Show it: Plan your capstone: problem statement, components, every rule and a state diagram, then get teacher approval.
  3. Stretch it: Bug Hunt: use the 4-step process to find why a fan rule never turns on, then write the corrected rule.

Checkpoint: What was your input, what decision or process happened, and what was the output?

For teachers & parents

Coach without taking over

  • Before: ask the learner to predict what will happen and why.
  • During: use prompts such as “What changed?” and “What could you test next?” instead of giving the answer.
  • After: ask for a 30-second explanation, one piece of evidence and one improvement.

Look for: safe handling, correct vocabulary, a result the learner can demonstrate, and an explanation in their own words.

Safety reminder: Plug parts in only while the USB cable is unplugged. Use only the kit's low-voltage loads on the relay, keep water away from the board, and don't touch the MQ-2's hot cover.

Did you get it?

Three quick questions. Pick an answer to see whether it is right, and why.

  1. 1Which comes first when you troubleshoot a project?

  2. 2The fan works from the dashboard but not from the rule. Where is the bug?

  3. 3Why write a problem statement before you build?