My plan is to have an Arduino connected to a sensor that monitors the presence of a person at a desk sending the data to a computer to collect the information on when the desk was taken and when it was open. At that point my second step would be to use the information about the first sensor to control a light at the desk connected to another arduino.
I know some basic coding but very little electronics. I would like to know if this project is something feasible, the pieces and platform needed and and if there is any complication in my idea that can be solved by approaching the problem in a different way.
I am trying to detect if someone is sitting at the desk. My dream would be to be able to detect 3 different statuses: when the desk is used with the person there, when the desk is occupied by the person's stuff (laptop, bag...) but the person is not there (might be on a break) and when the desk is completely open. But the point is that I would like to detect mainly if the person is sitting there or not so that I can first record some data on the usage of the desk and second optimize the light in order to be on just when the person is there. In the future the light might represent the all energy system (AC, lights...) of the area in order to save energy.
To make this more clear: this would be for an office that works in "smart working" where people in the morning take their stuff from a locker and occupy a random desk that will be cleared at the end of the day.
Sorry for not being completely clear in the first message.
Can you give me some guidance on how to make this happen, components needed and maybe suggestion on the detection of all 3 statuses.
You have to find out whether a load is put on the desk, and whether that load is human (warm?) or some other material. A temperature sensor (IR?) may already be sufficient.