Back to Learning Matrix
M0

Smart Hardware Fundamentals

Describe what you want to build in plain words — AI handles the code, compilation, and flashing. No prior coding experience needed to create your own smart hardware.

Students often don't code, qualified instructors are rare, and prototypes often stall between idea and reality — hardware learning gets stuck behind the barrier of "learn to code first." M0 removes that barrier, letting students focus directly on their own ideas and projects.

Partnership Inquiry
Grove Beginner Kit Integrated Board
Difficulty
Beginner
Duration
Full Version 16–20 Hours
Shortest Format
Half Day · 2 Hours
Teaching Format
3 Layers, 6 Types
Hardware Platform
A/B/C Three Layers · Grove / Wio Terminal / XIAO
AI Coding
Codecraft Cloud + aily-blockly Local
Track
Build with AI
Who This Course Is For
Zero-Baseline Students · University General Education Teachers · Maker Bootcamp Students · Corporate Innovation Participants
Prerequisites
None

Typical Scenarios

  • University General Education
  • Maker Bootcamp
  • K12 After-School Program / 4:30 Classroom
  • Tech Festival · Innovation Week
  • Teacher Workshop
  • Enterprise Innovation Experience
  • Chaihuo Mobile Base Vehicle Tour

What kind of person will the student become?

M0 teaches what determines quality after the entry barrier disappears.

  • 01

    Sense → Logic → Output

    Pick up any smart product and immediately deconstruct "what it senses, how it judges, what it outputs", and draw your own system sketch.

  • 02

    Articulate Your Ideas

    Turn "I want to make a water reminder" into a structured requirement AI can precisely understand: input / logic / output / boundaries.

  • 03

    Collaborate with AI

    5 Principles of AI-Assisted Programming: Change one thing at a time, paste error messages back verbatim, get it working first then optimize, ask AI to explain, and keep the version that works.

  • 04

    BMAD 5-Role Workflow

    Use PM/UX/Architecture/Development/Testing five roles to drive AI step by step, transforming a "running" prototype into a "structured, maintainable" project.

  • 05

    Debug & Iterate

    Understand errors, find problems, fix your work; know the 3-step help method when stuck — ask AI, ask a classmate, ask the teacher.

  • 06

    Document & Present

    Write maker journal, record 30-second demo video, present "pain point → solution → demo → value" to a stranger in 2 minutes.

BMAD is a general engineering habit of mind. Whether doing research, writing proposals, or organizing events, the same framework applies. Once you grasp the logic of breakdown and collaboration, the problem-solving methodology remains practical even as tools change.

In the classroom

  • May 2026, Guiyang No. 8 Middle School: an AI-coding hardware taster session.
    May 2026, Guiyang No. 8 Middle School: an AI-coding hardware taster session.
  • May 2026, Guizhou Education University: group photo after a workshop for graduate students.
    May 2026, Guizhou Education University: group photo after a workshop for graduate students.

Hardware and toolchain

Sub-kits divided by hardware platform, not L1/L2/L3 mastery depth.

  • A Grove Beginner Kit 11-Module Integrated Board · No Soldering
  • B Wio Terminal 2.4″ Color Screen + Joystick + Buttons
  • C XIAO ESP32S3 Sense Thumbnail-Sized + Camera + Microphone
  • ＋ Grove 40-in-1 Parts Pool Group Shared · Freely Access During Projects
The 3 sub-kits and the parts pool
  • Grove Beginner Kit Integrated Board

    M0-A

    Environmental Sensing

    Grove Beginner Kit

    11-module integrated board: OLED display, buttons, knob, buzzer, LED, light / temperature-humidity / air pressure / sound / accelerometer sensors. No soldering, no breadboard. Your first "Sense → Logic → Output" closed-loop project.

  • Wio Terminal Handheld Dev Board

    M0-B

    Interaction Design

    Wio Terminal

    A handheld dev board with a 2.4-inch color screen, 3-axis joystick, 3 buttons, built-in accelerometer, and Grove interface. Build interactive HMI projects: smart Pomodoro timer, spirit level, motion-based mini-games.

  • XIAO ESP32S3 Sense & Expansion Accessories

    M0-C

    Visual Intelligence

    XIAO ESP32S3 Sense

    Thumbnail-sized main controller + OV2640 camera + digital microphone + SD card slot, with expansion board, buzzer, mini fan. Edge AI: image classification, face/object detection.

+ Grove 40-in-1 Expansion Kit (shared parts pool for groups) Ultrasonic ranging, water level, soil moisture, vibration, servo, relay, MP3, RGB LED strip... freely access when building your own project, unrestricted by "only these modules in the kit".

Codecraft helps you dare to make, aily-blockly helps you finish it

M0 adopts dual-platform relay toolchain for zero-install, 5-minute results.

  1. Codecraft

    Browser · Zero Install · Results in 5 Minutes

    1. Complete Beginner
    2. Can Make It Run

  2. aily-blockly

    Desktop · Engineered · Project Permanently Yours

    1. Can Modify Code
    2. Can Build Engineering Projects
    3. Take It Home & Continue

Key Turning Point · Module 8 Codecraft projects are saved in the cloud and unavailable offline; aily-blockly gives students complete project files locally for the first time, allowing offline modifications and long-term iteration.

Additionally requires SenseCraft AI (no-code visual model deployment & training, for Module 5 & Vision Taster, needs internet), 15-chapter Chinese textbook (open-source, free, for long-term self-study after course).

Syllabus and formats

10 teaching units in total. The delivery formats come first; the full syllabus expands below.

  • Full Version

    Includes final project

    16–20h · M0-A + B + C + Parts Pool

  • Marathon Edition

    Shortened final project

    2 Days · 12–14h · M0-A + Parts Pool only

  • Taster Session

    No final project

    Half Day 2h · Zero Install · Single Hardware

Before choosing After-School Schedule (16×1h): 16 × 1h = 16 hours, 4 hours less than Weekly Schedule's 20h; each session has ~10min fixed overhead (boot up, distribute devices, connect, pack up), more sessions = more loss — actual hands-on time ~13h vs 18h. Trade-offs are real: FP iteration compressed from two rounds to one, demo day 1 hour is tight, recommend fighting for double-period sessions.

For 16 sessions, we recommend twice a week, not once. Once a week stretches the timeline to 16 weeks (roughly a full semester), and students will lose momentum on their Final Project. Twice a week ≈ 8 weeks, matching the pace of the weekly format.

The vision taster class has clear network prerequisites. SenseCraft AI relies on cloud training, requiring reliable internet access that supports concurrent uploads from all participants. While programming tasters can operate locally offline, an internet loss during vision classes halts hands-on training. Chaihuo will test network links beforehand and prepare backup cellular hotspots and pre-trained models.

One of the lessons · 08

Key Turning Point

From Browser to Desktop — First Time "Owning" Your Own Project

aily-blockly

Show the full syllabus of 10 units and the schedule for each format
10teaching modules coverage across formats
Module / OutputWeekly10×2hAfter-School16×1hBootcamp4–5 DaysMarathon2 DaysProgramming2hVision2h
01Impossible Challenge5 Minutes to Display Your Name on Screen · Building the AI Programming MindsetCodecraftFullFullFullFullPartialNone
02Grove AdvancedSense→Logic→Output Loop · 5 Laws of AI-Assisted ProgrammingCodecraftFullFullFullFullNoneNone
03Wio Terminal Screen InteractionInterface, Status, ButtonsCodecraftFullFullFullNoneFullNone
04BMAD 5-Role WorkflowFrom "It Works" to "It's Structured" · Smart Pomodoro TimerCodecraft + BMADFullFullFullPartialFullNone
05XIAO + CameraWhat is Edge AI (TinyML) · Image Classification in PracticeSenseCraft AIFullFullFullNoneNoneExtended
06Find a Real ProblemFinal Project Topic Lockdown + PRD + System Sketch—FullFullFullFullNoneNone
07Prototype v1MVP Breakdown: Max 3 features, must form a closed loopCodecraftFullFullFullFullNoneNone
08Key Turning PointFrom Browser to Desktop — First Time "Owning" Your Own Projectaily-blocklyFullPartialFullNoneNoneNone
09From Toy to ProductCustom Sensors/Libraries · Appearance · User Testing + Peer Reviewaily-blocklyFullPartialFullPartialNoneNone
10Demo DayPolish → Record Video → Demo → ClosingSelf-SelectedFullFullFullFullPartialPartial

● Full◐ Partial— None●＋ Extended

On extended taster coverage: Module 5 in the full course serves as an orientation, whereas the dedicated vision taster provides a 2-hour intensive session covering data collection, model training, and boundary testing from start to finish.

  • Full Version

    • Weekly Schedule10 Sessions × 2 hours · 20h

      Club Classes, Weekend Camps, Weekly Regular Courses

    • After-School Schedule16 Sessions × 1 hour · 16h

      After-School Programs / 4:30 Classes with Shorter Sessions

    • Intensive Schedule4–5 Days × 4 hours · 16–20h

      Winter/Summer Camps, On-Campus Bootcamp Weeks

    Codecraft + aily-blockly + SenseCraft AI · Full coverage of 10 modules

  • Marathon Edition

    • Day 1 MorningModule 1 + 2

      Impossible Challenge → Grove Sensing Loop → 3 Mini Projects

    • Day 1 AfternoonModule 6 + 4 (BMAD Lite)

      Find a Real Problem → Team Topic Selection → PRD

    • Day 2 MorningModule 7

      Parts Pool Selection → Prototype Sprint → MVP v0.1

    • Day 2 AfternoonModule 9 + 10

      Iterate → Document → 30s Video → Demo

    Focus on a single hardware platform during intensive training, concentrating time on creative implementation, prototyping and documentation. Recommended teaching assistant ratio: 1:5–6.

  • Taster Session

    • Coding Taster SessionWio Terminal × Codecraft

      Experience AI-assisted creation: build a working smart pomodoro timer prototype independently in 2 hours, walking through the full BMAD workflow.

    • Vision Taster SessionXIAO × SenseCraft AI

      Experience Edge AI: train and deploy your own visual recognition model with zero coding required.

    Two sessions can combine into a full-day (4h) experience: morning coding, afternoon vision, covering both generative AI and edge AI tracks.

The Coding Taster is the standard workshop for the Chaihuo Mobile Base Vehicle national tour. Zero install, single hardware, 2-hour closed loop, offline only slows down but won't cancel — these four properties are exactly what "arrive and teach same day" requires. Division of work on the Chaihuo Mobile Base Vehicle: pop-up stop → Coding Taster; two-day campus stay → Marathon; with internet and AI theme → Vision Taster.

What You Take Away

The following is Full Version delivery; Marathon Edition delivers project, documentation, video, and source code; two Taster Sessions deliver Pomodoro project and self-trained AI model respectively.

  1. 01

    Final Project Work

    Problems students want to solve themselves, not teacher-assigned topics. Hardware recycled, project photos/videos preserved.

  2. 02

    Complete Source Code

    3+ Codecraft cloud projects, 1 aily-blockly local project, uploadable to GitHub.

  3. 03

    Project Documentation

    Problem/Solution/User, System Sketch, Hardware List, Implementation Process, AI Collaboration Record.

  4. 04

    30-Second Demo Video

    Landscape orientation, ready for competitions and portfolio documentation.

  5. 05

    Maker Journal

    End-to-end process documentation — ready-made material for competitions and presentations, no post-hoc make-up work needed.

  6. 06

    Self-Trained AI Model

    Collect your own data, train in the cloud, deploy an image classification model running on XIAO.

  7. 07

    Codecraft Platform Seat

    One seat per person, continuously available during validity period — after course completion, open browser at home and continue working.

  8. 08

    Course Completion Certificate

    Chaihuo Maker Academy M0 Completion Certificate (Participation Certificate for Taster Sessions).

We hope you reshape it until it is unrecognizable to us

This course is not a closed product, it's a foundation. Chaihuo is a makerspace, open-source is our nature — M0 delivers not just "one class session", but a complete set that can be taken apart, rewritten, reassembled: 10-module skeleton, teacher lesson plans & PPTs, student handbook, Codecraft cloud projects, open-source textbook, 40-in-1 parts pool.

  • Extension 01

    Switch Theme

    Module 6 "Find a Real Problem" has an open problem domain: your subject, your school's tech festival, something real happening in this city. The closer the problem is to students' lives, the better — and you know this better than we do.

  • Extension 02

    Connect Resources

    Your existing club projects, competition topics, school-based curriculum can connect after Module 7, becoming the Final Project direction pool. M0 removes the technical barrier — what's behind the door is up to you.

  • Extension 03

    Integrate Teaching Experience

    What you've accumulated over years of teaching: methods, metaphors, that moment that makes students' eyes light up — that's exactly what we don't have and can't provide.

Put M0 on your timetable

Budgets are based on participant count and hardware requirements. Email us your expected group size and target depth to receive a detailed syllabus and kit plan within 3 business days.

Partnership Inquiry View Courses