I am hoping to jump right into a project to learn how to do Arduino, which has lead me to post here where I’m hoping to receive guidance on which Arduino boards, sensors, etc., that could be purchased for this specific project. For the internet trolls out there: I am aware I can start my quest of learning Arduino by taking the tutorials in order and reading the manuals. I prefer this approach instead so no need to share your troll thoughts with all of us.
Project's Problem Statement: when closed, my home’s side gate obstructs the passageway between the front and backyard lawns, thereby preventing a robot lawnmower from freely servicing both lawns.
Desired Solution: Some mix of Arduino gadgets, motors, and whatever else, that are able to do the following:
detect the robot mower approaching the gate
fully open the gate before the mower arrives (to prevent the mower’s sensors from prematurely concluding the passageway is blocked)
detect the lawnmower’s exit from the gate area
close the gate
repeat the above steps for when the mower returns
Additional notes:
The gate is well balanced and does not have any tension/springs/whatever on it now, so it freely opens and closes with minimal force applied.
The mower will live in the backyard and be scheduled to automatically run at all times of the night.
My initial inclination is to attach an RFID tag on the mower and then use two RFID sensors a few feet away from the gate on both sides to detect/react to the mower’s movements.
I have attached pictures to provide more insight into the layout of the land. I can move all that crap that’s next to the gate lol and an electrical outlet is within reach of that pathway.
Other notes:
The neighborhood is very safe and failure to close the gate during the night would present a minimal risk to us. However, the mower costs ~$1,000 and I generally prefer the gate to be closed.
I have to make some amount of progress on this solution before purchasing, as my wife fears the mower will sit in the box for some number of months before I deploy the solution and then we are unable to return if problems and yada yada yada you know this conversation already.
Failure to complete this project will embolden my wife’s reluctance and could result in me manually mowing the lawn under the Phoenix, Arizona sun on the weekends (unfavorable) or having to find a landscaper to overpay and work the lawn instead (also unfavorable).
My background: I am great at DIY and electrical work. A portion of my job is writing complex VBA macros and SQL scripts, so I’m confident that I have the wherewithal to complete this project. Not looking forward to the C/C++ coding though.
Again, I’m hoping to learn of specific hardware that I should be used for this endeavor. Obviously prefer the simpler options. Also I searched other projects and found similar hits but none that were close enough for me to adopt, so any links to any projects nearly identical to this one are also appreciated. Thanks in advance.
@Trolls: no one cares about your unreasonably negative thoughts so move along lol
Trolls are like dress code violations: often difficult to define, but you know em' when you see em lol. Maybe I have read through too many forums but i expect them to arrive and figured I could head a few off at the pass. I don't know of any trolls specifically on this site so that's good.
And I'm interested in any hardware recommendations you got! Like should I avoid Arduino board version 1 because it can only handle two RFID tags, while my needs are also some kind of motor to operate the gate, so perhaps I need version 2 instead. Those kinds of things are what I'm hoping to weed out here in this conversation.
Okey.
The first is to establish the external devices You need. As for the motor torque, positioning are basic facts You need to get hold of.
Using a DC motor and end switches for the movement ought to do the job. Then watch out how to act if something, somebody interferes with the gate movement so that this/somebody is not crushed.....
Operating RFid there's plenty of topics handling that question.
I actually haven't given too much thought on the motor's placement, but yeah I expect that that will be critically important in its effectiveness of doing its job. Probably need a larger motor if I place it in an awkward spot so that it can overcome whatever extra resistance comes about as a result. And yes the risk of 3rd parties getting caught by the gate.
Sounds like I need to buy some gadgets and just tinker with them a bit.
Suppose something heavy falls down and obstructs the gate movement, a tree, a tumbling car... Do You accept that the motor is burned down or the mechanics looking like a cork screw? Likely not....
Then you need to research the more expensive RFID systems unlike the ones we generally deal with here which will read a RFID tag within perhaps 10 cm.
Point is, you probably do not need "ID", just a sense that the mower is in the vicinity. May be vastly easier to simply open the gate whenever the mower is actually operating.
You have jumped right in with the final step in your project as the first step.
Get all the mechanical/electrical stuff connected and working using, perhaps battery power. And then design how to control it with the Arduino. By then you will know the physical power/torque/safety requirements and can then concentrate on the computer part.
Paul
Whoa now. Keep in mind that the alternative to the Arduino project is me having to mow the lawn or hire it out for a seemingly indefinite amount of time, so yes I would gladly risk a fully built Arduino project to avoid those two basic solutions lol. I mean I can always rebuild an Arduino, but wasted time and/or money: well those disappear forever.
Paul, thank you for insights into the RFID tech. I appreciate that.
What I did not appreciate, however, was your hilarious response to my assertions that I'm well equipped at writing VBA and SQL... Just kidding man you played that well and had me laughing my @ss off over here!
"So completely irrelevant to this project." lololololol
Yeah, I'm aware of that and hence my initial troll comment. I certainly understand what you're saying, but imagine if I were on a different quest. Maybe one where I wanted to drive a car off a cliff with me in it. Well, to do that it wouldn't make sense for me start my journey by researching all about the different parts of car's engine, its frame, maybe the ICE's history, annnddd tail lights. Why would I do that? Instead it would make way more sense to learn about (1) some basic mortal combat moves that would allow me to obtain control over a car that someone else is driving and then (2) how to turn the steering wheel, and then maybe (3) a good spot where there's a cliff. Perhaps I would learn a few other similar things for good measure. You know. Of course if I needed to obtain some other knowledge about the manufacturer's history, culture, or the car's wheels, wiring, or whatever other relevant rabbit hole exists, then I could always do that until I fulfilled my primary objective. Know what i mean?
And for you all who are itching to respond with "you should go and do it actually drive off the cliff!" Yeah i see you basic trolls a mile away come up with some better material lol
