real Newb looking for guidance for a motion-sensor activated sound loop player

I want to create components that will activate a sound loop when touched or when motion is sensed nearby. These are to be inserted inside sculptural objects. So I want them to be autonomous - I mean self-contained little units that have the sound (which I will record) inside. I want to record different sound loops for each sculpture.

It seems like I should be able to do this with arduino, but I have no idea where to begin, what components I will need, and how to get the recorded sound inside them.

Can you help?

This project is certainly in the scope of Arduino. An Arduino UNO should work just fine. You may even be able to get away with a Micro or similar board. For the motion sensor I think ultrasonic would be a good choice. The HC-SR04 is a pretty universal and cheap sensor to use. Other options are PIR (passive infra-red), IR (active infra-red), and possibly more. If you provide more details about the environment the sculptures will be in I might be able to provide better insight.

For the music part, you'll need a board that can store the mp3 files and interpret them. Additionally, you'll need an amplifier to boost the signal before it goes to your speakers. This product seems to meet all of these requirements: Adafruit Music Maker MP3 Shield for Arduino w/3W Stereo Amp [v1.0] : ID 1788 : $34.95 : Adafruit Industries, Unique & fun DIY electronics and kits. You will also need speakers, microSD card, and battery. There may be cheaper boards out there that someone could suggest, but this seems to have what you need.

Sounds very interesting.

I agree that HC-SR04 would be a good simple sensor to incorporate. This set of instructions shows you how to get it up and running on an UNO: http://www.instructables.com/id/Simple-Arduino-and-HC-SR04-Example/ I have example code for otehr uses of this sensor if you are interested (like turning LEDs off at different distances)?

I used one of these on my Raspberry pi, which wa spretty simple so that could be a good way to detect motion: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/like/251557549966?limghlpsr=true&hlpv=2&ops=true&viphx=1&hlpht=true&lpid=108&device=c&adtype=pla&crdt=0&ff3=1&ff11=ICEP3.0.0-L&ff12=67&ff13=80&ff14=108&ff19=0

In terms of making sounds I have less ideas, haven't done any of that... but I'm sure someone on here has lots of ideas!

Hope this helps,

Alex

Have a look at this.

http://zachrattner.com/rroll.php

Thank you. I will check all these out!

Try entering "recordable sound module" in a google search or in e-bay. I have been using 10 sec sound modules with an IR detector and an ATtiny85 to make outdoor interactive art along a hiking trail. The sensor triggers the ATtiny when people pass, and the sound module says...

" Hi there, great to see you out and around today on the Rail Trail.. have a good day".

I put a 60 sec delay between voice activations so that it doesn't keep coming on if the people hang around a while.

the whole thing is powered with a 5 volt solar cell connected to a Li battery... people love it.

the whole setup costs about $12 and runs forever.