What Would You Build If I Gave You an SBC, Sensors, Relays, Connectors, a Power Supply and an Enclosure?

Time machine, of course.

Scott

The sky is the limit for what you can build with that many components.

DAB

With systems there are usually 3 rules of thumbs that can be used to determine the effectiveness of any designed processes/mechanisms that are used to change an input to an output, namely:

speed - does it make it quicker, cost - does it make it cheaper, complexity - does it make it simpler/ perform better.

So, maybe it could be any idea the demonstrates an improvement on any or all of these metrics.

I agree with DAB, it is a broad list of components and so is the amount of things that can be build with them, but here are some ideas, I think all of them may require parts that are not covered:

• Some sort of automatic irrigation system: can use SBC as the brains, Omron Relays (water pump), Traco DC-DC converter and/or power supply, connectors, bespoke enclosure, battery holders, not sure if any of the Omron capacitive sensors may work as soil moisture sensors. I've built something alike actually with some parts and manufacturers of the list.
  
• Power supply: with Traco power supply, Omron (connectors, switches, relays, current/voltage sensors), Camden Boss enclosure/indicators one can build a power supply. Toss in SBC or even a Bluetooth module to make it programmable/configurable with your Cellphone. In the past I built a simple one (not programmable) with a computer power supply, it has served me well.
  
• 3d printer autoleveling: I believe (not sure on this one) some of the Omron capacitive sensors or distance sensors may be suitable for a DIY 3D printer auto-leveling
  
• Temperature controlled projects: one idea I've had in mind for a long time ago is to mod an AC/Heat system to auto-close/open vents to save electricity and to regulate very well the target temperature in a place (lets say a 2/3 story home). I see Omron has human-presence/heat-signature sensors that can make such kind of project even better.
• With Omron photoelectric sensors -and maybe a SBC/Blutooth- a DRO (digital readout) may be useful for a Mill or lathe lets say to track position and/or motor speed.
  
  Or usefull for many robotics applications
  

Luis

Kinda looks like this box of stuff.  RPi in a waterproof enclosure, 5VDC and 24VDC Power supplies, 40A SS relay, IMU sensor input, CAN bus output and BT keyboard.

Greenhouse auto temperature control for growing the ultimate hot peppers, and once grown, then become a solar dehydrator to dry them.  

If a deer wandered in to eat those precious pepper plants, the greenhouse system would automatically detect it, make peppered deer jerky. ( stretch goal )  

It is tough to take a random smorgasbord of parts and create an optimized system that needs and uses them all.

It can be done, but the number of quality applications might be small, and the number of successful projects could be even smaller.

What comes to mind though is some sort of Rube Goldberg machine - they can easily accommodate any wild assortment of parts.

except for the display.

There are no user interface components in the list, so control (if any) should be through bluetooth or WiFi if the SBC has that.

Randall,

When I saw this list I just had to become a member to tell you about an issue I've been thinking of trying to solve, that this parts list could really be used to help.

I live in a hot environment. Where I work we are not allowed to bring personal electronics into the building. So, on those days where I go to the library to do some stuff I have to leave my computer(s) etc. in the trunk. By 5 PM, those devices are hot to the touch. I will bring them into the library, and give them time to cool down before turning them on. And while the equipment should be able to handle temperature changes, we have seen early death of cell phone that have to be left in cars.

I am sure other have this problem when visiting client sites and similar situations.

While I could drive around with a bunch of ice in the trunk, and let that cool the trunk while melting, I don't like the idea that there is no control of the temperature. What I thought of doing was putting two insulated chambers in the trunk. One to hold the ice or other passive coolant (gel packs, dry ice, etc), and the other to hold electronics. The two chambers would be connected by a ventilation hole with a fan. The fan would only operate when the chamber in the electronics side reaches a temperature configurable temperature range (let's say 95 - 105 F | 35 - 40 C perhaps).

The communications would allow the driver to know the status of the system (temperature of the two chambers, humidity etc.) and you may even be able put in a small heat pump (if there are any to be had) to actively cool down the trunk when electricity is available.

And the smarter the system, the more fun you can have (track temperatures over time; have a water pump if you are using ice; etc.

And you can always use the two chambers to hold the venison on the weekend when you are taking it over to Gary's to make the jerky.

You have a great project idea.

Rather than ice, maybe try a hall effect cooler.

I have a Hall Effect cooler that runs on DC, actually the cooler becomes a warmer if the polarity is swapped.

It doesnt have any temperature adjustments, but your project could improve that part.

Heck, you can add a solar panel in the rear window deck to supply the power and avoid killing your car battery.

It wont likely get too hot if there is no sun.

Maybe you can have a cooler chamber for electronics, and another for keeping your ice cream cold for the ride home.

Your IOT connection can help you do data analysis for trunk cooler version 2, and alert you if there is a problem.

Good luck !