Here is our final (But not final) update for our Enchanted Clock.
My goal was to create a wooden clock and enchant it with the kits supplied by our generous sponsors, Atmel, Element 14 and Infineon. I wanted to have the clock recognize who was in front of it, control the lights and temperature by voice command, control the lights by sensing if you were sleeping. There would also be a way to keep the time correct without self-adjusting the clock.
Accomplishments:
All the clock parts were cut out and partially assembled; due to tearing the ligament in my hand I wasn’t able to complete the clock. Once healed, I will complete the clock and incorporate all the electronics.
Voice control is completed and works perfectly. I have the commands Light, Dark, Sleep, Hot, Cold, Off and Timer embedded into the voice controller. Using the command “Light” turns on the lights, “Dark” turns them off and “Sleep” turns them all to dim. “Hot” and “Cold” turns the heater up or down. “Off” stops everything as a back-up command. “Timer” is for future use of setting a sleep timer or cooking timer. The temperature thermostat was across the room so Chrystal (my daughter) thought of using a laser with photo sensors to turn the motor on and off. When the command “Hot” or “Cold” are said the laser would hit the photo sensor and allow the power through to the motor and adjust the temperature.
For the clock to have its time correct I added a binary clock to keep track of the correct time. This will be placed with the wood clock as it will control the servo used to adjust time. There is a magnetic sensor in the wood clock to know where the minute hand is located. When the minute hand reaches the hour, the sensor checks the minutes of the binary clock. If it is within a couple of minutes it won’t adjust, if more than that it will activate the servo to turn the minute hand forward or back. The binary clock is complete and works great. I placed the temperature lasers into the board for looks and to be compact.
The recognition sensor is an ultrasonic sensor that measures height from the top to the floor. So when someone from the family is standing in front of the clock it takes their height and compares it to the database and displays “Hi (Name)”.
Sleeping sensor works with ultrasonic sensors as well. How this works is by sensing movement, if you are on the sofa reading, you constantly move which the sensor recognizes. If you were to fall asleep you moving around is a lot less which will let the sensor know you fell asleep and turn the lights down. Because the sensor knows you’re on the sofa, if someone walks in the room the lights won’t turn on unless the one sleeping moves a pre-set amount.
Items used and price
Arduino (3) - $26.00 each
Infineon RGB Board - $34.00
LED strip lights - $37.00
Arduino prototype board - $12.00
Ultrasonic sensors (3) - $12.00
Wood for clock – Free
Wire & Msc. - $45.00
LED Display – Free (Recycled)
Voice recognition module - $37.00
Drawing of the final project attached below. Pictures will follow later tonight as I am out of town.
Thank you all for reading,
Dale and Chrystal Winhold
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