Description
After playing with a faux-theremin (fun!), we were tasked with creating an object with input-output coincidence. I struggled with a number of ideas for this; modify a model car to use potentiometers to make noises when someone moves the car along a surface? The pots, however, do not spin freely, which would quickly bring the car to a stop. Another idea might be to create a clear plastic climbing hold (as is used in climbing gyms) that illuminates a color based on the pressure placed upon it; climbers could then visually see their distribution of weight on the holds of a route as they climb it. However, I don't have polyurethane resin that could be strong enough for body weight and yet also be clear.
Instead, I decided to focus on common todo tasks. Despite our electronic age, I maintain a collection of paper receipts to reconcile my spending with my credit card statements. Every month or so, I go through the pile, and place a finished receipt on a metal spindle in a deliberate motion of accomplishment. These spindles are the same as you might find in diners of yesteryear; they would take a completed check and pop it on top of a stack of other completed checks through a thin metal spike standing next to the cash register.
In this vein, I thought my deliberate motion of accomplishment might turn to one of glee if the metal spindle also made a noise when I pierced a completed receipt onto the pile. As such, through the use of a force sensor and the speaker, the metal spindle makes a Mario-esque coin noise - KACHING! - whenever a piece of paper is pierced onto it. It's now wonderfully satisfying to complete this mundane financial task.
Components Used
1- Arduino Uno
1- FSR
1- 10k ohm resistor
1- Speaker
1- metal spindle
1- force redistribution mechanism (see previous lab; it is the bowl of a spoon attached to a cardboard tube end)
Code
Arduino code: download here
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