For project 1, I need to create an interactive toy. As of right now, I am stuck in the first phase of planning. I have several ideas, but I have no clue which idea would make the best toy and which are practical. Since I am so indecisive, here are the proposals for my 3 main ideas.
Snow Globe
The purpose of the snow globe is to entertain/decorate, making it ideal for adult's desks and bookshelf. The wow factor of the snow globe comes from a series of LEDs incorporated into the design.
The snow globe would use movement sensors to detects when it is being flipped upside down. Once it has been flipped and rotated back to its original position, the sensors would trigger LEDs to light up and possibly for the entire display to rotate.
Building the enclosure would be simple; I'd place the components in the base and then create my own cute Halloween themed display. There are plenty of online tutorials to walk me through this part.
I could face potential challenges with finding LEDs that work in water and most certainly with programming the sensor to activate after it has been flipped twice (from upright to upside down, back to upright).
Materials:
I would need the basics like the Arduino board, wires, and some LEDs, which I have, but I would also need to get
- A snow globe jar
- Glycerin
- Tiny statues and decor for the inside display
- Other stuff probably?
Moving Dog Toy
The idea behind this one is a ball or bone shaped object that has a motor and sensor inside of it, which detects the dog and "runs" away from the dog. The dog would then chase it, like a solo game of fetch. To further entice the dog to chase the toy, I could add a treat dispenser inside of it. This would be a great toy for dogs because it could keep them entertained for hours and help them exercise while their owner is away.
I think the most achievable design for this toy would be barbell shaped; two wheels on either side and a cylinder in the middle which contains the components and is durable enough to withstand dog bites.
This toy would be difficult because it would have to be extremely durable. Plus, I would struggle with the programming and the building aspects because they are new concepts to me.
Materials:
- The basics
- Vibration motor or maybe a different motor
- Plastic ball enclosure
Wire and Bead Toy
You know those generic metal bead maze toys that are found in every doctor's office in America? I thought it would be a cool idea to make them more interactive. I was thinking I could build clear tubes with LEDs inside of them, so when you slide the wood bead over the tube, the LEDs inside light up. The enclosure could be the wooden base. Maybe the simplest of my ideas, I believe this one would be the most visually striking.
It would be cute to see a toddler's reaction to turning LEDs on and off. It would also benefit children visiting the doctors everywhere.
Although this idea has the most simple input and output info, I'm not positive how I would activate the lights. Possibly with some sort of distance sensor or maybe it could work with a simple switch. At least the programming for this toy would be simple enough.
Materials:
- The basics
- Wood
- Clear plastic tubes
- Some sort of sensor that tells the position of the wood bead on the tube
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