CJW
COAT HOOK - ELECTRONICS DESIGN PROJECT
Problem
We’ve all stepped outside in a t-shirt to then find ourselves in the centre of a torrential rain storm without even a jacket, never-mind a waterproof coat!
Idea
The product proposal is for a coat hook to recommend a coat based on an internet weather forecast for the day, taking into account the worse predicted conditions. The user places their coats on each of the appropriate hooks, then the ring above the most suitable coat is illuminated by the controller. The user should never be caught in the rain without a waterproof.
Prototyping
The course module required a prototype to be made using a pre-determined microcontroller. Experiments were carried out to assess the feasibility of using LED bar displays to display the rain risk or 7-Segment displays to show a message to the user. Other inputs were considered such as a humidity sensor.
Prototype
The initial electronic prototype uses a microcontroller, rain sensor, LCD and stepper motor to check for rain, then point to the suitable coat from a selection of two and tell the user the weather conditions.
The functionality is limited by the microcontroller, however using a different controller such as a Pi Zero would allow an internet forecast to be pulled via WiFi. This would take the worst conditions in the forecast, and recommend the suitable coat.
