Ok, so I've looked at stuff on youtube and such seeing this type of thing but most of them seem really overkill for what I need.
Basically my dog likes to check on me and then leave, so I want to have a button that I can press to close the door afterward she pushes it open. However, sometimes my dog joins me for an hour or so but then wants to leave, so having a way to open the door for her with a button and then close it behind her would be nice.
I did manage to find this one video that I like for this idea. I could use that basic arm design to push open my door and then add a little magnet to the end of the arm to pull the door closed. I really can't be drilling into these doors since I'm renting, but I figure I might be able to use a command strip to hold a magnet to the door and then pull it with the magnet on the arm.
The magnet idea is incase my dog happens to be in the doorway where I can't see her. I don't want something pushing the door closed on her or her tail or anything, but I think small magnets should have enough stick to pull the door but should release each other if she happens to be in the way.
Now, the problem is I've never attempted anything like this before and don't even know where to start.
Preferably I'd like to either use a remote or my phone or my computer to control this thing so I don't need to run long cables to my desk to activate the device. I've seen bluetooth designs before so I know that's possible but I'm also fine with just having a little remote that I can push button A to open and button B to close or using a wireless signal from a computer since I have that in my office.
In that video they used a stepper motor, but I don't know how strong of a motor I'd need. It's a basic wood door that seems light so I think a simple motor would work but that's just my guess. I don't know if a stepper motor is overkill for this and a simple servo would suffice.
I also have no clue where to even find parts to make this thing. I've seen some robotic kits on Amazon that I could probably use but that's about it. I don't know where to find stuff like the arm part used in the video or know what terminology to use to search for these things.
Additionally, since I can never make things easy on myself, I'd like to make this in two parts possibly. The door swings into my room, so if I used the device from the video, I'd have to mount it outside in the hall. Since it's a little too big to do that, I'm wondering if I can have just the arm and motor outside but have the rest of the stuff inside my room behind the door. I have no idea how complex that would make this project or if I might be able to make it small enough to perfectly fit in the door frame.
Mostly I'm just looking for feedback I guess and a little bit of help determining what parts to look for or terms to use.
I want to be able to use the door normally without this device, which is why the above video really caught my eye.
I'm not sure if the magnet idea is the best way to handle this type of design, but it's the best I could come up with to do the job but also work as a safeguard to prevent injuries.
The only downside to the magnets is that I need the device to default to the original state each time. In the video, the device opens the door and then returns to it's original state. For me, that opening works fine, but the magnet should pull the door shut when it returns to it's original state. That's fine in general cause I want the door closed 90% of the time, but I'm wondering if it will cause issues.
I think coding wise the open and close operations would be essentially same but with a minor change. Close would work like in the video, fully swinging the arm out and immediately returning to it's original state. Open I think needs to full swing the arm out, wait a few seconds or wait for an action from me, and then return to it's original state. The only real difference is that with Open I need to wait for my dog to walk out before closing the door and I feel like a secondary action from me would probably be better than waiting X seconds.
Any thoughts on this? Does it seem viable or should I change the design? Any suggestions on parts to use or websites I can find these parts? Or any tips to help me figure out what I need on my own?