Sarah and Matty’s Post
By: Matty Flader and Sarah Williams-Habibi
Description of Device:
Our device alarms the use of temperature shifts above 24 and below 20 degrees Celsius. The user is alarmed through various device outputs: a RGB LED light that turns from blue to a flashing red, a colourful fan that turns on, and a two pitch audio alarm.
Challenges Encountered and Overcome:
Our biggest challenge was the combining of alarms. Although each alarm (light, speaker, and motor) worked individually, we had a lot of trouble combining the three. When the speaker was working, the light wouldn’t turn on, and when the servo motor was working, neither the speaker nor the light would turn on. This problem was solved through first, re-ordering our code in the void loop, and by swapping our servo motor to a rotational motor. Although it took a lot of time and energy to fix, by the end, our device was working long enough to document.
Reflection on Course:
One of the most valuable things we learned from this module was that programming is truly a test of one’s mental fortitude; throughout the process of iteration, we ran into many issues that we could not solve alone. Luckily, we had Jay, Arduino examples, and google to help us; yet, it called for a lot of persistence and patience. We now feel fairly accomplished for having successfully completed the project, and gaining experience with code. As our world is becoming more technologically based, having some hands-on hardware and software experience will prove infinitely valuable. This module gave us a good basis to use coding and machinery for a wide scope of further experimentation and play, such as art installations and future projects.
