Hi, I have never seen arduino before. I was looking for a simple usb IO connection to operate a 12v relay. However now I've seen arduino it seems it will do that AND so much more. But I dont have much money and dont know where to start.
My requirement is to build a device which will drop a treat to my dog who suffers from separation anxiety (less anxiety more like oi! where the **** is everyone) and barks when I am not around. My idea is to fire off an actuator which will push a treat out of a hopper and into a delivery tube to the dogs bowl. I was looking for a timer which would fire the actuator at intervals. It seems that I will be able to do this with arduino.
I am expecting to need to program it via PC (windows8) but then let the arduino device, actuator and relay run without PC attachment.
I am expecting to need
1x arduino micro board
1x 12v PSU + connector wired to the micro board
1x relay connected to a digital output 5v with the load connected to the actuator driven from the same psu as driving the micro board.
I am expecting to be able to setup a timing sketch via windows which will pulse the digital output at predetermined intervals in a loop until it is turned off.
Is this what I need above and will it be fairly easy to achieve? I only have a small amount of electronic and programming experience (nothing much really).
Do I need anything else? eg is the motor shield necessary to drive the relay? Even if it is not could the motor shield be included and drive the actuator directly instead of needing the relay? If so will I need anything else eg 2nd psu?
Thanks for any assistance with my challenge. Fido will be happy too:-)
I can't understand how a regular supply of food is going to make any difference to your dog's anxiety. I advise contacting dog experts for advice, because there are probably well know ways to address the problem - and I'm not at all sure that food is it.
To implement your chosen solution you would need to build the hardware that dispenses a treat in response to an electrical pulse. This is the hard part.
Generating the pulse at regular intervals is utterly trivial. There are lots of ways to do it, some that don't need an Arduino at all.
PeterH:
I can't understand how a regular supply of food is going to make any difference to your dog's anxiety. I advise contacting dog experts for advice, because there are probably well know ways to address the problem - and I'm not at all sure that food is it.
To implement your chosen solution you would need to build the hardware that dispenses a treat in response to an electrical pulse. This is the hard part.
Generating the pulse at regular intervals is utterly trivial. There are lots of ways to do it, some that don't need an Arduino at all.
Thank you for your response Peter. Don't worry about fido - he's fine XD . He's 15 years old and is used to having folk around all the time. He's deaf and partially sighted and and it's just that he's started to bark when he can't sense anyone around- if he thinks about it too long. A morsel of food every 5 minutes keeps him from remembering there's noone there. He's not often left but when he does bark he annoys the next door neighbour.!
.......back to the project.....
the dispenser is easy ....think of it like a stack of maltesers in a long tube. gravity does the hard work. the actuator (like a car central locking device) pulls back and a pivot arm knocks a treat onto the floor. Very easy and works every time. so you say the other bit is trivial and maybe doesnt need arduino. What could you suggest please? I don't want a regular pulse btw. I want to be able to knock 2 or 3 treats at a time then wait and repeat but maybe at irregular intervals. cheers
What I had in mind was a domestic time clock controlling a wall wart which provided power to operate your solenoid. You can get inexpensive clocks with a resolution down to 10 minutes or so, and this also makes it easy to set times of day when this thing works. But that wouldn't work so well if you really want this to be random/unpredictable. In that case, an Arduino would be a reasonable solution. Do you know how much current and voltage your actuator needs? If you don't already have one, you might consider using an RC model servo. They only cost a few quid and take very little current. If it's only a single small servo, and not working under load, you can usually get away with powering it directly from the Arduino - although best practice is to give servos a separate power supply with at least 1A available.
As Peter said, the general practice is to not run high current devices such as motors directly off the Arduino board, since it could overload the onboard regulator. If you want to go with a relay, and since you are new, I'd recommend something like:
Though the Servo idea is actually pretty good, since it will allow you to skip the relay to control the actuator and instead is an all in one package. The only problem may be response time, depending on how quickly you need to open and close the actuator.
Thanks Guys!
The Kits look good and soldering isn't a problem.
I have and RC server lying around somewhere. The torque may be too low but it's certainly worth looking into.
I reckon I'll go with Arduino because it looks a fun thing to get into anyways - although I haven't a clue where the time will come from.
Cheers