Hi - I'm trying to accomplish a project similar to this: - YouTube
The only difference being that I want to have an approximate idea of where on the stairs the individual is.. so in the demo video, if the guy had turned around halfway and started walking back down the stairs, the light trail would follow him.
This means I need to have some approximate knowledge of where someone is on the stairs.
I think there might be a couple ways to skin this cat.. but I'm not sure which route to go. I think the following are all options, but I'm not sure if any one way is better than the others. That's what I need guidance on atm:
- Leverage an ultrasonic range finder at the top of the stairs
- Leverage a 25mm PIR sensors per several steps (3-4) to approximate the movement of the individual
- Leverage 10mm PIR sensors on every step to have a more exact estimate of the location of the individual
- Leverage an IR emitter/receiver proximity set-up similar to this: http://www.instructables.com/id/Simple-IR-proximity-sensor-with-Arduino/
- Utilize a presure sensor under each stair
- Use a highly sensitive vibration sensor on each stair
To give you a rough idea what the stair passage looks like and some of the ideas I'm toying with, here's a really crappy CAD rendering... The only thing for sure is the location of the NeoPixel strips and the Arduino.. The location sensors are the wildcard here and I have no idea what the best way to proceed is:
Thanks in advance for any advice!