Story

When I first heard about Grok-3, xAI's powerful new AI model, I wondered: "Could this actually help with hardware design?" As someone who spends hours in KiCAD designing PCBs, I decided to put it to the test.

The Experiment

I challenged myself to design an Air Quality Monitor PCB using common components:

ESP8266 (Wi-Fi MCU)

• ESP8266 (Wi-Fi MCU)

MQ135 (Air quality sensor)

• MQ135 (Air quality sensor)

TP4056 (Battery charger)

• TP4056 (Battery charger)

MT3608 (Boost converter)

• MT3608 (Boost converter)

OLED Display

• OLED Display

CH340C (USB-UART)

• CH340C (USB-UART)

But instead of doing it all manually, I used Grok-3 as my AI co-designer.

Read the Chat with GROK3: https://x.com/i/grok/share/eXrjvhXahyZzvNYt2G7imdOjb

1-Block Diagram

The Verdict?

✅ Faster Design – Cut research time in half.✅ Fewer Errors – AI caught issues I might have missed.✅ More Confidence – Had a "second opinion" on critical decisions.

See the Full Process in Action!I documented the entire journey—from AI-assisted design to final PCB—in this video:👉

Reposting statement:

The original author of the project is

https://github.com/ampnics/IoT_Based_Air_Quality_Monitoring_System/tree/main/Air_Quality_Monitor