And now what?
Time really flies, and now the final decision should be made. Of course I changed completely my plans for final project several times since the beginning, and I finally decided to make a bike alarm. Yes, there are a couple of those smart lockers and GPS tracking systems, but I couldn’t found a simple solution that gives a real time feedback for warn the thief that there’s a security system installed, all of current alarm models are completely silent devices. So why not make something that really make noise to be heard a 100m away and try to scare the thief a bit.
What will it do?
It will avoid that someone try to steal your bicycle. A simple bike alarm witch can detect movement, so if someone try to take it when the alarm is activated, a very loud buzzer will start play and another device that you carrie with you, wireless connected, will beep.
The idea is hide the device and use some kind of special bolt to avoid that the thief remove it when it starts to beep. Also a important point is how loud it will be. Well I'm thinking to use the same thing that are used in pull pin panic alarms, witch usually gives ~120dB (it’s enough to provide a uncomfortable environment in a 2m radius). To understand the rough idea, take a look in the picture below:
Who's done what beforehand?
Spybike: Spybike is a track system that uses a GPS and a SIM card to tell you If someone steals your bike, you can use SpyBike to track their movements online and on your mobile.
Skylock: A smart locker, powered by solar panels, that connects with your mobile device by bluetooth to control it, lock and unlock, and can text you if someone try to steal your bike. It also know when you falls and if you don’t answer in your mobile that you’re fine it will call to emergency.
The Cricket: A device that you can attach under the saddle, and it has a bluetooth connection and movement sensors that will warn you by an mobile app if your bike start to move.
What materials and components will be required and how much it will cost?
Well, as I'm still designing and planning how it will work I can only calculate an estimate price:
| Accelerometer 3-axis LSM303CTR | 1 | $2.89 |
| Speaker | 1 | $7.00 |
| LED RED/GREEN/BLUE PLCC4 SMD | 1 | $0.52 |
| ATMEGA328P-AU-ND | 1 | $1.91 |
| SWITCH TACT SMD W-GND 160GF | 1 | $0.73 |
| Battery 3V | 1 | $2.00 |
| Allen bolt M6 x 100mm | 1 | $1.10 |
| Smooth-Cast 305 | 100g | $3.00 |
| TOTAL | $19.15 |
Where will they come from?
All the parts and components that I’m planning to use can be found in fab lab inventory. Maybe I will try to find a louder speaker or buzzer in a local shop.
What processes will be used?
- Mechanical design
- Board design
- Soldering
- Programming
- Molding and casting
- 3D printing
What tasks need to be completed?
- Design PCB’s
- Programming everything
- Design and prototype weather-proof case
- Test all set installed to find the best position in a bike
What questions need to be answered?
How turn it off with a safe system? (Because must be something not so obvious like a hidden button, but could be something like a sequence of button press code that you can change whenever you want.)
Witch kind of wireless it can use to send an alert to another device in order to have a long distance signal?
What is the schedule?
Week1 (05/20 - 05/27): Board design and production, programming, evaluate the system
Week2 (05/27 - 06/03): Weather-proof case design and first evaluations
Week3 (06/03 - 06/10): Case and PCB’s final version production and final tests.
| ← week 14 / interface and application programming | week 16 / machine design → |
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