Week 7- Journal
Ideation
Tell us about your assignment's idea for this week. Why do you care about this idea? What inspired you? (Please include images or links to sources of inspiration)
the idea of this week's assignment is to design and program a smart device that performs a certain function or solve a problem, Arduino should take two inputs and performs more than one action.
Motion sensors!
Since I was a kid it always fascinated me the doors that open when you approach them, the water taps that run when we put our hands, the lights that turn on when we walk to the room, and all that cool stuff that were mysterious to me back in the days! Yes, I did get the idea when I grew up but I haven't really got the opportunity to work with all these cool sensors up until now, So I decided to use two motion sensors in this week's assignment and perform different actions to each one of them.
Tool Chain
Which software/machines/materials did you use in the assignment? Why?
Material:
-Breadboard
-Jumper wires.
-LED
-Resistor.
-Arduino UNO
-Ultrasonic sensor.
-IR sensor.
-Servo motor.
-USB cable.
-Cardboard.
I used Autodesk Tinkercad for circuit simulation.
and Arduino IDE to write the text code and upload the code to Arduino UNO.
Design/Preparation Process
Explain the design and/or preparation process of your assignment. How did you use the tool or software to design and/or prepare your assignment before fabrication/implementation?
Designing steps:
-First, I connected the Ultrasonic sensor and the servomotor with the Arduino and used code blocks to simulate the movement.
-Then I connected the IR sensor, which is not available in the Tinkercad components so I used the PIR sensor instead, and also used the code blocks first to make sure the connections are correct.
Finally I wrote the code in text!
I first included the servo library, identified each pin and its mode.
-Then with the help of this reference, I managed to deal with the ultrasonic sensor and get readings from it.
-I merged the two codes, the servo with the ultrasonic (if it found an object in less than 20 cm distance the servo which controls the door will open, else it will return back to zero degrees)
-And the IR sensor with the led, if it sensed any one in front of the door it will turn on, else it will stay turned off.
Development/Implementation Process
Explain the development/implementation process of your assignment. How did you use the machine/tool to manufacture or implement the design of your assignment?
First, I connected the circuit as I did in the simulation.
IMG_9704.movThen I tested each sensor and made sure they were working properly.
And Voilà
IMG_9728.MOVhere's our mini smart home!😍
Community of Learning
Did you ask for feedback? What are the ideas that others have contributed or suggested? What was someone else’s idea that you built upon? How did you help your peers? How did your peers help you?
This video was a great help to build the enclosure for the project, I used the same basic idea but with a small change in the shape and dimensions,
Overcoming Challenges
When you got stuck, what/who did you turn to? At what point did you have to pause to research or learn more before moving on? What are some mistakes, pitfalls, or challenges that others can avoid if they were doing this assignment?
I was inspired by Muhammed Adel's idea in the previous week's assignment, he used a paper clip as a hook to open the box, and finally, I did the same with a keychain ring.
I had a huge problem with the mechanism of opening the door! I used a lot of different materials to link the door knob to the servo motor, most of them were weak and barely did the job
Final Project
How can you use the skills and knowledge that you've acquired this week in your final project?
I got to work with sensors and understand them more which will be a great help in my final project because I'm going to use the same kinds of sensors I used in this assignment, and maybe more!
WOW!
What is the coolest thing that you've learned this week? What is something that you will never forget from this week?I
IMG_9523.movI got to work with my teammates to make a way complicated and much cooler smart home system! and it was a fun and rich experience.
