It could not have been that way back, however the world has modified so much prior to now twelve years. That is very true on this planet of know-how, the place the most recent devices are made out of date nearly earlier than they’re even launched. Suppose again to 2012 for a second — the very first Raspberry Pi computer systems had simply shipped and the AI summer time we at the moment are in was nonetheless solely at the start of a protracted thaw.
It was in that world that Larry Prepare dinner made his automated cat feeder. If it was constructed at present, such a system would doubtless be powered by a Wi-Fi-enabled microcontroller, and would have a big touchscreen show, and maybe would even run a pc imaginative and prescient algorithm to detect when a cat was close by and in want of a snack. However whereas these applied sciences at the moment are extensively accessible, and very cheap, that was not the case in 2012 when Prepare dinner constructed his cat feeder.
The interface (📷: Larry Prepare dinner)
In a latest video, Prepare dinner walked by way of the design of the system. It’s fairly instructive as a result of it reveals an easier solution to design a machine, which is one thing that these of us who’re obsessive about the most recent tech ought to take to coronary heart. Utilizing the most recent and biggest tech could make a mission flashy, little question, however the complexity can even make it much less dependable. Prepare dinner’s cat feeder is on no account flashy, nevertheless it has run persistently, day in and day trip, for over twelve years. Throughout that point, there was just one minor hiccup within the system’s operation. Who amongst us can say that now we have had something that now we have constructed run for even a single yr with no need any consideration?
The reliability outcomes from the simplicity of the system. It’s centered round not a microcontroller or a single board pc working Linux, however a easy CD4060 timer. These binary counters do nothing greater than retailer a quantity and add one to it after they obtain a clock pulse. By controlling the pace of the clock, they’ll depend for an arbitrary period of time earlier than they attain a delegated worth.
When that worth is reached, a drum with cutouts spins on the backside of a hopper holding dry cat meals. The cutouts management the quantity of meals that’s distributed in a single feeding. The drum is pushed by a DC motor, and a Corridor impact sensor is used to find out when the drum has made a full revolution in order that the motor will be switched again off.
The interface may be very primary and consists of switches and seven-segment LED shows. A counter reveals what number of occasions the feeding course of has run in order that you already know issues are working at a look (though a cat would certainly make you conscious earlier than you had an opportunity to test). A swap adjustments the system’s clock pace to manage the feeding interval, and there’s a push button that triggers a right away feeding in case your cat is driving you nuts with begging.
Prepare dinner additionally included a battery backup within the design in order that feeding is not going to be interrupted even when the ability goes out.
Typically less complicated is best. Give the video a watch if you wish to study extra about this rock-solid automated cat feeder. Preserving with the theme of simplicity, Prepare dinner has not supplied a digital model of the schematics, however you’ll be able to take a screenshot of the circuit design that he printed out on paper for some steering. On this case, nevertheless, I’d be joyful to sneak in some extra fashionable know-how.