Rami Alhamad

Shamandar is a screen-free Arabic audio toy I built to help a friend who runs a podcasting company in the Middle East. Tap an NFC card and the beetroot plays the matching story. The working prototype combines an ESP32, NFC reader, speaker, battery, and a small content backend.

The project was an experiment in speed: how quickly one person could move from an idea to a physical object with AI. In under 20 hours, I used Claude Code to spec the parts, sketch the wiring, program and test the firmware, model the enclosure for 3D printing, find a local printing service, and build the backend that maps cards to stories.

Working Shamandar beetroot audio prototype on its electronics enclosure with two NFC cards — Working prototype and NFC story cards

Working prototype

Prototype demo · card one

Prototype demo · card two

Process

Early product rendering of the Shamandar beetroot character on a speaker base with an NFC card — Early product direction

ESP32, NFC reader, audio amplifier, battery, speaker, and wiring laid out on a workbench — Parts and wiring on the bench

CAD rendering of the compact beetroot-shaped Shamandar enclosure — Enclosure study

Exploded CAD view showing the Shamandar shell, face plate, internal chassis, electronics, rear cover, and leaf button — Exploded enclosure

CAD component layout showing the NFC board, main PCB, speaker, battery, USB-C connector, and internal chassis — Internal component layout