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Beginner-friendly activity books packed with diagrams, code walkthroughs, and self-learn questions. Read below or use your browser's Print → Save as PDF to download.

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Rysera Intermediate Course · Session 1

Let's Get Started!

Day 1: Icebreaker — Meet Your Device

Saturday, March 14, 2026 · 3:00 PM

What Is This Course About?

Welcome to the Rysera Intermediate Course — Course on Integrated System Design! Over the next few weeks, you're going to build something really cool: a Medibox.

What is a Medibox?

A Medibox is a smart medicine dispenser — a device that reminds you to take medicine at the right time, shows the time and environment conditions on a screen, and can even be controlled from your phone! Think of it as a mini hospital device you build yourself.

By the end of this course, you'll have:

🔌 Wired up real electronic components on a circuit board
🖥 Designed your own PCB (Printed Circuit Board) in professional software
💻 Written C++ code to make your device work
🌐 Connected your device to the internet
🧊 3D-designed and printed an enclosure for it

Today's Star: The 1.3" TFT Display

Today we're going to work with the 1.3" TFT Display. TFT stands for Thin Film Transistor — it's a colorful screen, just like the screen on your phone, but much smaller!

📐 Specs at a Glance

Screen size	1.3 inches diagonal
Resolution	240 × 240 pixels
Colors	65,536 colors (16-bit)
Interface	SPI (Serial Peripheral Interface)
Voltage	3.3V (powered by ESP32)

🔌 What is SPI? (And why should I care?)

SPI — Serial Peripheral Interface — is a communication "language" that your ESP32 and TFT screen use to talk to each other. Think of it like texting: the ESP32 sends messages (pixel data), and the TFT displays them.

SPI uses 4 wires:

MOSI — Master Out, Slave In (ESP32 → TFT, sends data)
MISO — Master In, Slave Out (TFT → ESP32, sends data back)
SCLK — Clock (keeps both devices in sync)
CS — Chip Select (tells the TFT "hey, I'm talking to you!")

🔗 Wiring Diagram (ESP32 → 1.3" TFT)

TFT Pin	ESP32 Pin	What it does
VCC	3.3V	Power supply for the screen
GND	GND	Ground (completes the circuit)
SCL (CLK)	GPIO 18	Clock signal
SDA (MOSI)	GPIO 23	Data from ESP32 to screen
RES (RST)	GPIO 4	Reset pin
DC	GPIO 2	Data/Command selector
CS	GPIO 5	Chip select
BLK	3.3V or GPIO	Backlight (optional)

Today's Activity: Display Your Name on the TFT!

Let's write your first Medibox code! Follow the steps below carefully.

Wire up the TFT display

Using the wiring table above, connect your TFT display to the ESP32 on your breadboard. Double-check each wire — a wrong connection can prevent the screen from working!

Open Arduino IDE

Open Arduino IDE on your laptop. Make sure you have selected ESP32 Dev Moduleas your board under Tools → Board.

Install the TFT_eSPI library

Go to Sketch → Include Library → Manage Libraries. Search for TFT_eSPIby Bodmer and click Install. This library speaks SPI to our TFT screen.

Upload the starter code

Copy the code below into a new sketch and upload it to your ESP32:

// Day 1 Starter Code — Display Your Name
#include <TFT_eSPI.h>
#include <SPI.h>

TFT_eSPI tft = TFT_eSPI();

void setup() {
tft.init();
tft.setRotation(1);
tft.fillScreen(TFT_BLACK);

// Set text properties
tft.setTextColor(TFT_GREEN, TFT_BLACK);
tft.setTextSize(3);

// Display your name!
tft.setCursor(20, 80);
tft.print("Hello, World!");
}

void loop() {
// Nothing here for now
}

🏆 Challenge: Can you change the text to display your name? Or try changing TFT_GREEN to TFT_CYANor TFT_YELLOW!

Self-Learn Questions

Answer these questions to check your understanding. Some you can figure out from today's session, others will need a bit of extra research — use Google or ask your instructor!

Multiple Choice

Q1. What does SPI stand for?

a) Super Peripheral Input

b) Serial Peripheral Interface

c) Synchronised Pin Interface

d) Screen Protocol Interface

Q2. How many wires does SPI typically use?

a) 2 wires

b) 3 wires

c) 4 wires

d) 6 wires

Q3. Which ESP32 pin is used for the SPI Clock (SCLK)?

a) GPIO 2

b) GPIO 5

c) GPIO 18

d) GPIO 23

Q4. What is the resolution of the 1.3" TFT display we used today?

a) 128 × 128 px

b) 240 × 240 px

c) 320 × 240 px

d) 480 × 320 px

Q5. What Arduino function do we call to set the cursor position on the TFT screen?

a) tft.setPos()

b) tft.moveTo()

c) tft.setCursor()

d) tft.position()

Short Answer

Q6. In your own words, explain what SPI is and why we need it to use the TFT display.

Write your answer here...

Q7. What would happen if you connected the VCC pin of the TFT to 5V instead of 3.3V? (Hint: look up the TFT's max voltage in its datasheet.)

Write your answer here...

Q8. What is the difference between `tft.print()` and `tft.println()`? Try both and describe what you see.

Write your answer here...

Glossary

ESP32

A powerful Wi-Fi + Bluetooth microcontroller chip

TFT

Thin Film Transistor — a type of color LCD display

SPI

Serial Peripheral Interface — a wired communication protocol

GPIO

General Purpose Input/Output — programmable pins on a microcontroller

Library

Pre-written code that adds features to your program

Pixel

The smallest unit of a display (dot of color)

Breadboard

A board for prototyping circuits without soldering

Sketch

What Arduino calls a program

Rysera Intermediate Course · Session 3

Electronics in Action!

Day 2: Putting It All Together

Saturday, March 21, 2026 · 3:00 PM

Component 1: Push Buttons

Push buttons are one of the most basic ways for a user to interact with our Medibox. We'll use two push buttons — one to navigate left/up and one to navigate right/down in the menu.

How does a push button work?

A push button is a simple switch. When you press it, it connects two metal contacts, allowing current to flow. When you release it, the connection breaks. Your ESP32 detects this change in its GPIO pin — that's how it knows you pressed a button!

🔗 Wiring Two Buttons to ESP32

Button	Button Pin	ESP32 Pin	Other Connection
Button 1 (Left)	One leg	GPIO 34	Other leg → GND
Button 2 (Right)	One leg	GPIO 35	Other leg → GND

// Button code — track left/right presses
const int BTN_LEFT = 34;
const int BTN_RIGHT = 35;

void setup() {
pinMode(BTN_LEFT, INPUT_PULLUP);
pinMode(BTN_RIGHT, INPUT_PULLUP);
Serial.begin(9600);
}

void loop() {
if (digitalRead(BTN_LEFT) == LOW) {
Serial.println("Left pressed!");
delay(200); // debounce
}
if (digitalRead(BTN_RIGHT) == LOW) {
Serial.println("Right pressed!");
delay(200);
}
}

Component 2: The Buzzer

Our Medibox needs to alert us when it's time for medicine! We'll use a passive buzzer connected to an ESP32 pin. We control it with PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) to create different tones.

Active vs Passive Buzzers

Active buzzer: Makes a fixed sound when you apply power — simple but boring.

Passive buzzer: You control the frequency — you can play musical notes and alarms! We use a passive buzzer for the Medibox.

// Buzzer alarm code
const int BUZZER_PIN = 18;

void beep(int freq, int duration) {
tone(BUZZER_PIN, freq, duration);
delay(duration + 50);
}

void setup() {
pinMode(BUZZER_PIN, OUTPUT);
}

void loop() {
// Play a short alarm pattern
beep(1000, 200);
beep(1500, 200);
beep(2000, 400);
delay(2000);
}

Component 3: HTU21D Temperature & Humidity Sensor

The Medibox needs to monitor the storage environment — medicines are sensitive to temperature and humidity! The HTU21D sensor measures both and sends the data to the ESP32 using I2C protocol.

What is I2C?

I2C (Inter-Integrated Circuit) is a two-wire protocol, much simpler than SPI. It only needs:

SDA — Data line
SCL — Clock line

Multiple sensors can share the same two wires — each has a unique address!

🔗 HTU21D Wiring

HTU21D Pin	ESP32 Pin
VCC	3.3V
GND	GND
SDA	GPIO 21 (SDA)
SCL	GPIO 22 (SCL)

// HTU21D basic reading (using Adafruit HTU21D lib)
#include "Adafruit_HTU21DF.h"

Adafruit_HTU21DF htu = Adafruit_HTU21DF();

void setup() {
Serial.begin(9600);
htu.begin();
}

void loop() {
float temp = htu.readTemperature();
float hum = htu.readHumidity();
Serial.print("Temp: "); Serial.println(temp);
Serial.print("Humidity: "); Serial.println(hum);
delay(2000);
}

🏆 Mini Project Challenge: Display the temperature and humidity readings on your TFT screen! Hint: use tft.setCursor() and tft.print(temp).

Bonus: AMS117 5V Voltage Regulator

The AMS117 5V is a voltage regulator module — its job is to provide a stable 5V output from a higher voltage source (like a 9V battery). Our Medibox uses this to ensure all components get a clean, stable supply voltage.

Why do we need a voltage regulator?

Batteries drain over time, causing voltage to drop. If components receive inconsistent voltage, they may behave unpredictably or get damaged. A voltage regulator ensures a steady, safe output!

Self-Learn Questions

Multiple Choice

Q1. What type of buzzer allows you to control the frequency (tone)?

a) Active buzzer

b) Passive buzzer

c) Digital buzzer

d) PWM buzzer

Q2. Which GPIO pins on the ESP32 are used for I2C by default?

a) 18 and 19

b) 4 and 5

c) 21 (SDA) and 22 (SCL)

d) 23 and 16

Q3. What does INPUT_PULLUP mean when setting a pin mode?

a) The pin is pulled to 5V by default

b) The pin is internally connected to 3.3V when idle

c) The pin is set to maximum output

d) The pin only works with pulldown resistors

Q4. What is the purpose of the delay(200) after reading a button?

a) To slow down the processor

b) To debounce — prevent multiple rapid reads

c) To flash the LED

d) To reset the pin

Q5. The HTU21D sensor measures which two environmental values?

a) Pressure and altitude

b) Light intensity and UV index

c) Temperature and humidity

d) Noise level and vibration

Short Answer

Q6. Compare SPI and I2C protocols: what are the main differences in terms of wires needed and how multiple devices are supported?

Write your answer here...

Q7. Why is debouncing important when reading button presses? What problem does it solve?

Write your answer here...

Q8. Design a plan for your Medibox alarm: what tone frequencies would you use for the morning alarm vs an emergency low-battery warning? Explain your reasoning.

Write your answer here...

Glossary

I2C

Two-wire serial protocol using SDA (data) and SCL (clock)

PWM

Pulse Width Modulation — controls power by rapidly switching on/off

Debounce

Technique to filter out rapid unintended button presses

GPIO

General Purpose Input/Output — programmable pins on a chip

Buzzer

An electromechanical device that makes sound from electrical signals

HTU21D

A digital temperature and humidity sensor from TE Connectivity

AMS117

A low-dropout voltage regulator providing stable 3.3V or 5V output

Sensor

A device that detects or measures a physical property and converts it to data