Digital Makerspace
The Digital Makerspace at Ashoka Mphasis AI & Applied Tech Lab is a dynamic hub designed to inspire innovation and foster creativity. More than just a facility, it is an evolving ecosystem equipped with cutting-edge tools, rapid prototyping technologies, and high-performance 3D printers, enabling students, faculty, and staff to turn ideas into reality.
With a strong focus on skill development, Makerspace offers workshops, training sessions, and full-credit Independent Study Modules, covering areas such as 3D modelling, hardware prototyping, and woodworking. These initiatives promote project-based learning and encourage academic exploration.
Collaboration is at the heart of our mission. The Makerspace actively fosters partnerships within Ashoka and external organisations, driving interdisciplinary innovation. Our commitment to sustainability, inclusivity, and safety ensures a supportive and respectful environment where diverse ideas thrive.
As we continue to grow, the Digital Makerspace remains dedicated to empowering creativity, advancing technological innovation, and nurturing a culture of lifelong learning.
Our Flagship Projects
Waiting Lobbies: Transforming Passive Spaces into Interactive Experiences
The “Waiting Lobbies” project is redefining transitional spaces across campus, transforming ordinary waiting areas into refined, interactive environments. Designed by student teams, these installations introduce subtle yet engaging interventions that respond to human presence, with the first phase focusing on elevator lobbies—spaces where movement naturally slows, and moments of pause emerge.
The initial implementation explores one-way mirrors in elevators, a study in perception and reflection that subtly alters the experience of familiar spaces. This project serves as an accessible entry point into interactive design, requiring no prior expertise while delivering immediate, tangible impact. As the project develops, we plan to explore additional responsive elements that can enhance other transitional spaces around campus.
With its emphasis on experimentation and innovation, the Waiting Lobbies project welcomes diverse perspectives and skill sets. Whether exploring interactive systems, fabrication, or spatial transformation, it serves as a stepping stone to engage with ideas that shape how we experience and interact with our surroundings.
A Series of Balancing Acts: Exploring Motion, Control, and Mechanical Equilibrium in Robotics
The “A Series of Balancing Acts” project explores the relationship between motion, balance, and automated control, using interactive robotic systems to challenge our understanding of stability. Designed within the Makerspace, this initiative encourages students to experiment with machines that actively counteract forces to stay balanced—much like a tightrope walker adjusting their stance. From a ball that stays centered on a moving table to a cube delicately balanced on a single vertex, each experiment demonstrates how stability can be achieved and maintained through automation.
Anyone interested can take on hands-on challenges that push the boundaries of balance automation. Some experiments involve designing systems that sense movement and adjust in real-time—such as a two-wheeled robot that remains upright even when nudged or a ball that continuously bounces without falling off the table. By combining sensors, control systems, and mechanical design, these projects explore how machines can predict and respond to movement almost instantly.
This project welcomes students from all backgrounds to explore the designing of physical structures, programming motion control, or experimenting with new ideas.
The Hexagon Project: An Interactive 3D Light Installation
The Hexagon Project is an interactive 3D light installation designed to transform ordinary corridors into dynamic, responsive environments. Built from modular hexagonal structures, this system uses programmable LEDs and embedded sensors to create an immersive space where light and colour respond to presence, movement, and touch as people pass through.
Inspired by honeycombs and crystalline patterns in nature, the daisy-chainable design allows the installation to scale—expanding from small wall displays to large, corridor-spanning experiences. Each module communicates with its neighbours, generating flowing patterns that shift and evolve based on interaction.
This open-source project invites students from electronics, industrial design, programming, and interactive art to collaborate and experiment. Participants will explore real engineering challenges, including scalability, power distribution, and intuitive user interactions that feel seamless and engaging. As the project grows, tools will be developed to allow anyone to customise animations and design their light patterns, making the Hexagon Project a constantly evolving platform for creative expression and interactive design in shared spaces.
Low-Cost DIY Air Purifier & Environmental Monitoring System
The Makerspace team is developing a low-cost, DIY air purifier designed to be an affordable yet highly effective alternative to commercial models—at a frugal cost. This student-led initiative provides hands-on experience with environmental engineering, electronics, data analysis, and scientific validation techniques while creating technology with real-world impact.
Students from any discipline are invited to join our team as we design and build both the purifier and a dedicated testing chamber for benchmarking against commercial products. Participants will gain practical skills in prototyping, sensor calibration, environmental monitoring, and open-source documentation while working on a project that addresses indoor air quality—a growing public health concern.
The project emphasises functionality, affordability, and environmental impact, making it an excellent example of frugal innovation with purpose. Through this work, we’re not only creating a data-backed air purification solution but also preparing students to apply engineering principles to solve practical challenges. The Makerspace invites students to develop this open-source technology that makes clean air more accessible while building valuable skills for your academic and professional future.
Orbital Weaves: Mapping Space Debris Through Art & Technology
Orbital Weaves is an interactive dome installation that merges space technology with artistic expression, offering a breathtaking visualisation of the hidden chaos in Earth’s orbit. Using projection mapping, it transforms real-time geospatial coordinates of space debris into an immersive experience, surrounding visitors with the swirling motion of thousands of objects encircling our planet.
Designed with interactive elements, the installation allows users to explore orbital regions, track debris movement, and understand collision risks. Through a multisensory experience that combines dynamic visuals with synchronised sound, it highlights the growing challenge of orbital debris and its impact on space exploration.
Currently in its alpha stage, Orbital Weaves presents opportunities to experiment, refine, and expand its capabilities to anyone interested in space technology, interactive art, and engineering. It is more than just an installation, it serves as a space-age planetarium, making space sustainability a tangible and thought-provoking experience.
Hardware Random Number Generator (HRNG)
The Hardware Random Number Generator (HRNG) is an entropy-driven system designed to transform fundamental physical phenomena into mathematically provable random numbers. Drawing from diverse sources—including cosmic ray detection, chaotic double pendulums, quantum electronic noise, and environmental fluctuations—HRNG sets a new standard for physically verifiable randomness with applications in cryptography, simulations, and scientific research.
Developed as a collaborative project within the Makerspace, HRNG evolves through iterative builds, refining both entropy sources and validation methods. Rigorous statistical testing—including Shannon entropy estimation, NIST test suite implementation, and spectral analysis—ensures that the randomness produced meets the highest standards of reliability and security. A publicly accessible API will allow researchers and developers to integrate these entropy-driven numbers into a wide range of applications, fostering transparency and accessibility.
Bridging quantum physics, chaos theory, electrical engineering, and computational science, HRNG is an evolving system with opportunities for hands-on experimentation and interdisciplinary collaboration. The project remains open to those interested in exploring the mechanics of randomness and its practical applications.
