Summary of completed work thus far:
- Confirmed that the USB sound adapter works. We used a computer running Ubuntu to emulate an Intel Edison running Yocto. We chose to use the default Yocto due to previous experience with Linux.
- We began to turn the bell at the top into a button/potentiometer system for changing volume and playback/skip on alarm functions)
- Took apart another clock to gain a gear box with the pins needed to control clock pins. We plan to attach a servo to the black pins sticking out of the gear box in image 1 in order to move the hands of the clock (allowing for greater accuracy and mechanized calibration)
- We made the “unfortunate” discovery that the clock will no longer have a mechanical ticking noise because the servo motor renders the clock silent. Anyways, the clock becomes even better for sleeping next to, like a warm pupper, although noticeably less amiable.
Materials:Sabrent USB sound adapter: https://www.amazon.com/Sabrent-External-Adapter-Windows-AU-MMSA/dp/B00IRVQ0F8
Recording:Unfortunately, our Intel Edison has not arrived yet, which has made development more challenging. However, we have began setting up the microphone recording system for installation in the clock frame. The tests with the sound sensor system have been somewhat successful, and we are working on improving the sensitivity of the sensor. Due to difficulties with the three pin (VCC/GND/AO) sound sensor, we ended up using the computer’s internal microphone to record sound and played back the recording through a pair of headphones attached to the USB sound adapter. Should the sound sensor prove to be too finicky because it only registers a change in voltage when one speaks very close to it, we plan to buy a separate microphone. However, we will try desoldering the onboard resistors of the sound sensor to see how it works. Hopefully, we will be able to solder the AO and VCC to a male stereo cable and record through that. Now that we have a proof of concept, we will merely have to download the drivers needed for the Edison to record and play sounds.*edit: We realized the reason the sound sensor was not at all made for recording human voice. Instead we are looking into buying a mic typically used for recording security footage (as that would seem to be higher quality for recording voice)The shell command for recording audio in a format that the USB sound adapter could play was as follows:
arecord -f S16_LE -c 2 -r 44100 out.wav
Purpose:The sensor will be used for recording reminders which will play back the next morning when the clock wakes you up. It can also be used to turn the jarring bell alarm into a music player.
Installation of Buttons:First, we removed the glue which kept wires attached to the LED at the front of the clock for lighting up the screen. Then, we removed the bell and sanded down the outside of the clock after cutting off the supporting pins for the bell. Finally, we glued on the buttons and soldered the wires in place so that they would enter through the clock rather than sticking out from the sides.
Purpose:We wanted to keep with the theme of upcycling and still maintain as much of the original aesthetic as possible, which is why we plan to run most of the wires out through a small hole in the back to be controlled by an edison and an arduino outside of the clock frame. Thus, we needed to find ways to put buttons on the clock without ruining the look. In addition, we wanted easily accessible inputs to better control important parts such as volume.
Calibration Pins:We are also working on configuring the servo motor which will attach to the clock’s calibration knobs and automatically calibrate the time daily at midnight (using a time retrieved from the National Institute of Standards and Technology).
Image 1We opened up an identical clock in order to get more parts including calibration pins (we accidentally broke the ones in the first clock), which are the knobs on the black gear box. We accidentally stripped the screw and had to rip apart the socket… so there’s no way to put this back together in its original form.
Image 2
Left: How the clock looked before we took off the bell.Right: Work in progress on the buttons
Next Goals
- 3-D print a component to place inside the bell’s spheres to snugly place a potentiometer inside. Thus, the bell pieces would be both rotatable as a potentiometer and pushable as a button. (The potentiometer is hot glued on top of the button, and the bell sits on top of the potentiometer.)
- Be able to play music from the output jack of the USB sound adapter. (Hopefully at the press of a button and when the alarm goes off, but the alarm part will take a bit longer as we figure out whether we plan to run the alarm digitally.)
- Hopefully be able to start utilizing the Edison’s ability to connect to Wi-Fi and start working on the APIs for weather and time.
- Begin “rebuilding the clock”: We hope to be able to make an alarm turn on and off by pressing the screen of the clock. We plan to rewire the button that is to the left of the gearbox in the blue clock.
- We plan to order this microphone unit: https://www.amazon.com/VideoSecu-Sensitive-Microphone-Monitoring-Recording/dp/B004REA7MG/ref=pd_sbs_421_1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=5GZ3C1TGND955BC0EZ9Y
Created by:
Clyde Johnson
Andy Tockman
Joshua Tsai
Hrishabh Bhosale
Ishan Kamat
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