20. Project development

RE-LEASH

I started drawing on a paper some ideas and finaly i had an prototype, i also had an name The project would be called Let the dog out (L.T.D.O) or Eltdoo. But after 2 days of thinking about my idea and sharing it with my wife, we came up with a better name The project will be called RE-LEASH

Defining the problems:

  • The dogs are on a chain and can not get loose when i am not home.
  • They know at 17:00 PM they get loose and get their diner, so around that time they get anxcious.
  • The alarm off the house goes off, and i get an text message, but the dogs are chained.

Defining the solutions:

  • The dogs can get off the chain automatically, when i am not at home.
  • At a certain programmed time or when it gets dark the dogs get loose.
  • When the house alarm goes off, i can remotely unchain the dogs.

What tasks has been completed?:

For my final project i managed to complete my full project - I made the enclosure - I designed and made my own PCB - I learned how make my own code and program the board - I made my own custom solenoid chainlock

What task remains?:

  • i want to make the RE-LEASH rechargeble, with an USB port
  • I want to make the RE-LEASH connected with the internet
  • I would like to learn to make an app for it

What has worked and what hasn’t?:

At the end i got the challenging part working and that was the locking mechanism, at first i had problems with it But with a lot of testing with different kind of coils and cupper wire i got it working

What has not work is that i did not manage to design a new board with WiFi because of the time restrain.

There is one questions to solve and that is that the selfmade solenoids is getying hot when there under power. I have to find out how i can reduce the heat

When will what happen?:

First off all i will have a little break because these past 5 months where really intensive. But also rewarding. I will start redesigning the board after the break, and will first begin with the rechargeble battery. If this works i will go further with create a new board with a WiFi module on it. So i wll work with spiral planning That way i will learn the most and i am an kinetic learner so i must touch and do things repeatedly.

What have i learned?:

LOL these 5 months where a mindblowing experience almost everything was new for me, so i can wright down every day of this passed months. But what really made an impact was designing, milling, soldering and programmming my own board, i never tought i would be capable of that. Soldering the little components gave me more confidence, so now i am repairing old eletronic devices that has burned capacitors etc. I will need more practice to fully master it, but if i stay working on different projects i will become as good as our instructor.

For more info on the project got to the Final project page Final project