Week17. Applications and Implications,Project development
What will it do?
My project is mainly to provide a cat nest for stray cats in the community to live in. In my neighborhood, stray cats are slowly gaining the attention of residents, sometimes seeing as many as five or six kittens and two or three adult cats at a fixed time and place, and observing that within a year, the original cats disappear and several new cats appear. The number of cats is increasing. At first, the residents of the community were friendly to cats, often feeding food and water, and using cardboard boxes to make simple cat nests. However, as the number of residents increased, the conflict between cats and people became more prominent, especially the number of infants, children and the elderly in the community, and unpleasant things also increased. Residents are increasingly discussing the issue of stray cats in the community.
So, I wanted to design a cat nest that could be placed in a fixed location in the community, and it could detect whether the cat had usage, food and water consumption, and so on, and display it on the display screen, or connect to the Bluetooth phone to display the relevant values.
Who has done what beforehand?
At present, there is a shared travel company in China-Haruo Chuxing, launching a market-oriented shared cat nest, including actual cat nest devices and mobile App. When cat nests are placed in areas with a large number of stray cats, users can use mobile APP to watch cat conditions in real time through the Internet, as well as feed and donate money, and the proceeds will be used to assist TNR operations.
What will you design?what parts and systems will be made?
I need to design the exterior structure, electronics, and Bluetooth app.
- Appearance structure: mainly using corrugated paper, wood, PLA and other materials, using laser cutting machine and 3D printer production
- Electronic system: mainly using pressure sensor, temperature and humidity sensor, self-made main control board based on XIAO-esp32C3, etc.
- Bluetooth App: App Inventor
what materials and components will be used?where will they conme from?how much will they cost?
At present, the timeliness and variety of domestic e-commerce platforms in China are very complete, so all accessories are purchased in TaoBao.
| Name | Specification | Quantity | Unit Price(RMB) | Total Price(RMB) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wood Board | 45×45cm*3mm | 8 | 5.25 | 42 |
| Paper Board | 40×60cm*3mm | 14 | 1.05 | 14.72 |
| PLA Material | 1.75mm | 1 | 28 | 28 |
| Pressure Sensor | When force is applied, the resistance value of the sensor decreases; when no force is applied, the resistance value is infinite. RP-S40-LT; effective area: 36.5 square mm; range: 20g—20kg; size: 85×40mm; pin length: 5mm; with pressure conversion module | 3 | 46 | 138 |
| XIAO Controller | XIAO-ESP32-C3 | 1 | 35 | 35 |
| PCB Board | Copper Clad Board | 3 | 4 | 12 |
| Display Screen | SPI Display | 1 | 19.3 | 19.3 |
| Humidity Sensor | 1 | 3.5 | 3.5 | |
| DuPont Wire | Male to Male, Male to Female, Female to Female | 1 | 5 | 5 |
| LED Light | 0603 | 3 | 0.2 | 0.6 |
| Button | 1206 | 3 | 0.2 | 0.6 |
| Resistor | 0603 | 6 | 0.25 | 1.5 |
| 4P Connector | 2.54mm 4P | 12 | 0.1 | 1.2 |
| 7P Connector | 2.54mm 7P | 6 | 0.2 | 1.2 |
| 302.62 RMB |
what processes will be used?
- Laser cutting machine: Laser cutting machine makes cat nest shell and top structure
- 3D printing: printing food utensils for cat nests
- CNC: Milling PCBs with small CNC machines
- Soldering: Soldering electronic components using an electric soldering iron
what questions need to be answered?
How can you prove that your cat litter is better for stray cats than the products on the market?
How do you ensure that your device survives outdoors?
how will it be evaluated?
1. From the perspective of cost, the structure of the cat nest uses wooden boards and corrugated paper, which are low in cost; the sensors and controllers used are cheap;2. In terms of use, the cat nest is mainly used for stray cats in the local community. It is a bridge between residents and stray cats, aiming to solve the problem of stray cats in the local community and facilitate low-cost management of local users.