Starting from small boards to big dreams

That is the journey of nearly 10 years of persistent research of Mr. Lap, from individual circuit board design orders online to technical support for students participating in local science and technology competitions.

Mr. Le Van Lap researches and designs circuit boards for partners around the world. Photo: PHAN VINH

Returning to hometown to start a business

Graduated with a degree in Mechatronics from the University of Technology - Danang University, Mr. Le Van Lap used to work in FDI companies in the Southern provinces, specializing in research, machine improvement and product design to support the operation of automated production lines.

After a while, Mr. Lap realized that his hometown still lacked applied technical research activities, especially in the field of technology education . In 2020, he decided to return to Tam Ky, focusing his time on online work, receiving electronic control circuit designs from small orders on the Global Electronic Engineer Connection channel.

Mr. Lap guides students in assembling robots. Photo: PHAN VINH

The first projects he received were only worth about 20 - 30 USD, sometimes simple circuit boards used to control LED lights or light sensors... Next were multi-layer circuit boards, integrated microcontrollers, precise motor control in industrial equipment worth several thousand USD.

[VIDEO] - Mr. Le Van Lap shares the reason for returning to his hometown to start a business in the electronics industry:

Mr. Lap shared: “I make a lot of remote control circuits, temperature and humidity sensor circuits, and automation equipment in factories. Each project is an experience, some are tested and then fail, and have to be repaired over and over again. But the more I do, the more skilled I become, I learn how to optimize, how to avoid errors, and understand more about the system, not just drawing circuits anymore.”

In nearly 10 years of working, Mr. Lap has designed hundreds of circuit boards with many different functions, from motor control, sensors, LCD displays to modules used in smart home devices, agricultural machines... Currently, he also manages the page "KiCad Vietnam" with more than 3,000 members, specializing in supporting young people to learn and exchange knowledge about PCB design (printed circuit board) completely free of charge, serving the community.

Mr. Lap (third from right) and a group of students from Le Quy Don High School (Tam Ky ward) participated in a robot creation contest. Photo: Provided by the character

“
Nowadays, technology develops very fast, but the distance between urban and rural areas is still quite far. I choose to work quietly, designing small circuit boards to make technology simple, close and importantly, everyone can try it, even high school students.
Mr. Le Van Lap

STEM educational equipment project

During his time providing technical support to student groups participating in STEM and Robocon competitions at school level, Mr. Lap noticed that many students had to use separate circuit boards to assemble robots. Each function was a small circuit, with many tangled wires, which were easily loose, difficult to control, and especially easy to confuse.

From that reality, he began to research and integrate the main functions into a single circuit board. After nearly a year of improvement, the Circle-bit Robot Programming Kit product was born. This is an integrated circuit controller used in STEM teaching, capable of connecting to many types of sensors, motors, displaying and communicating data via industrial standards such as I2C, SPI, CAN or Bluetooth, Wifi.

The board is compact in size at only 50x50mm but has up to 30 expansion pins, allowing students to comfortably connect peripheral devices while still maintaining neatness and ease of operation.

Circle-bit Robot Programming Kit product of Mr. Le Van Lap. Photo: PHAN VINH

“Previously, you had to buy a lot of individual circuits. Each circuit only did one thing, one read the sensor, one controlled the motor, one saved data… There were many wires, they were easily broken and very difficult to repair. I integrated them into a small, cheaper, and easy-to-assemble device. The most important thing is to help students not get confused, focus on programming thinking instead of struggling with hardware,” said Mr. Lap.

[VIDEO] - Mr. Le Van Lap shares about the Circle-bit Robot Programming Kit product:

With flexible integration features, strong connectivity and user-friendly programming software (Arduino, drag-and-drop interface...), the Circle-bit Kit product won third prize at the "Search for Quang Nam Startup Talent" contest in 2025, becoming one of the typical startup projects in the field of STEM educational equipment developed by Da Nang people.

According to the project description, the product can be expanded for use in IoT models, smart device control, automation and advanced robot programming research. The expected selling price of each kit is only about 150 thousand VND, a cost suitable for high school students.

Mr. Lap (right cover) supported a group of students from Nguyen Du Secondary School (Ban Thach Ward) to win the Design Award at the Open STEM Day 2024 - 2025 organized by FPT High School Da Nang. Photo: Provided by the character

“I am completing the technical documentation, preparing to file an intellectual property registration for the design and looking for opportunities to commercialize the product. In the long term, I want to develop more integrated circuits that are closer to life, such as vegetable growing sensors, smart irrigation systems, and control models for grassroots innovation competitions,” Lap added.

Mr. Lap supported a group of students from Le Quy Don High School (Tam Ky ward) to win the Encouragement Prize at the 3rd "MUCE Open Robot Creation Competition" - 2025 organized by the Central University of Construction, Da Nang branch.

Another group at Nguyen Du Secondary School (Ban Thach Ward) with his technical support also won the Design Award at the Open STEM Day 2024 - 2025 organized by FPT High School Da Nang.

Source: https://baodanang.vn/khoi-nghiep-tu-bo-mach-nho-den-uoc-mo-lon-3296998.html