A question on feasability

Greetings everyone. My friend spoke to me about Arduino and the things you can do with it, and I was immediately fascinated with the possibilities. I have a project in mind I would like to do, but I currently do not have the books, and my friend never invested time into this so he doesn't know much about it.

Anyways, the basic idea is something like this. I want a device that contains a motion sensor, solenoid, and speaker system, and I need it as small as possible. I want to be able to set something up to where, when the motion sensor is tripped, a noise is played through the speakers, and after a brief delay the solenoid goes off. I need the solenoid to push with enough force to puncture a co2 cartridge by impaling the thin tip on a spike that's been lined up with it.

Is this possible? How hard would it be?

Not too hard to do from your description. Will need a bit of additional electronics but that should be it.
The Application shouldn't take too long to do. I recommend that you first go through the Arduino online tutorials to see what the platform can do.
What type of noise? A tone?

It sound that your project has some resemblance to my "cat keep off my lawn" apart from the CO2 tank (something to consider though ;-))

Well, as for the noise, it's really a matter how much more effort it takes to make it...more complex I suppose? Like for example, how easy is it to make any sort of noise, then activate the solenoid after, say, 2 seconds, or have it play an mp3 or similar format.

For example, I see it up next to a tree. Someone walks buy, the device says "wrong turn", then the solenoid goes off, pushes the cartridge into the spike, floods the chamber with co2 which then escapes through slits/hole, which then expel a substance that is outside the device. The substance, water, would then escape through a hole with a sort of rubber seal on the outside of the device. I guess you could say it's a watergun in a box.

There's a bit more to this than I'm describing, but there's a reason for that.

Is this possible? How hard would it be?

The Arduino part would be easy as pie. The mechanical part, solenoid puncturing CO2 is where you would have to spend some design/experiment time with.

Lefty

What's the punctured CO2 cartridge going to do?

CrossRoads:
What's the punctured CO2 cartridge going to do?

Besides adding to global warming?

(Or feed some trees?)

Hi,
Re: Puncturing the CO2 cartridge:

Since this is a one-shot device (manual reloading right?) you should look at the CO2 race cars of several years ago.

There was a handheld device with a tube that went over the end of the CO2 cartridge, a spring, and a sliding 'bolt' with the sharp end, and a "bolt action" pin that held it back when 'cocked'. You (the 6th grader in the hallway with your little car with the CO2 cartridge in the back), placed this device over the end of the co2 cartridge, and moved the bolt 'handle' until it suddenly released and the spring slammed it into the cartridge. The car went about 200 feet down the hallway, and you had just enough time to run after it and retrieve it before being sent to the Principal's office.

So, a small solenoid could release the spring-loaded firing pin.

Also, if you wanted to reuse some more modern high-tech solutions from the ever-innovative Chinese toy industry, get a battery-powered Big Soaker or similar water gun. Or if you want a CO2 repeater device, try paint guns or airsoft guns??

You need this working by Halloween??

terryking228:
You need this working by Halloween??

I've got until june of next year to make one of these, but the sooner the better because I've got other improvements in mind, general in regards to theft protection and styling.

I'll look into the co2 toy car situation, might be something to that.

Here is a rough design of how I imagine the solenoid set up would work. Take note, I do not think this design will actually work, but I think it conveys the concept of what's going on well enough.

concept.png

The main problem with the design is that the air will come out wherever it is punctured, you need to hold the co2 carttride, hit it an retract, somehow allowing the air into the second chamber of (water) without it coming back and flooding the first chamber,
the whole thing needs to be quite strong to hold the pressure and force it to come out a small hole, otherwise its just gonna self destruct