My entry for the Internet of Holiday Lights is an electro-mechanical wreath.
My first blog post was a brain dump of possibilities. I'm a tiny step further now.
And I have received the ingredients.
The paper prototype
Before diving into the electronics part, I want to have a tangible proto. Arts and crafts is not my forte, so don't expect too much.
I made a paper wreath and a paper filter gizzmo. It allows me to dry-run the mechanism.
What's next
I have no experience with the Yún. so that will be the first firmware topic that I'm planning to master.
I've watched Controlling Holiday Lights using MQTT and the Arduino Yún. I'll now try to follow the Yún tutorials first, learn the eclipse IoT solution, and then make a service that knows what phase of advent I'm in.
Next is selecting an actuator for the filter. I've got a tiny dc motor and a servo motor. That will be the first things I'll turn to.
If the dc motor works best, I might need a position detector and brake mechanism. If I use the servo, the challenges will be more mechanical: how do I translate the limited movement into a circular movement.
I'll also see how I'm going to use the LED shield. My functional requirements for the shield are non-existing. That means I 'll have to find a creative purpose for the driver.
