Our assignment was to create a switch that doesn’t require the use of hands, and one that doesn’t use any programming. So I started off brainstorming different ways of interacting with the switch, and then afterwards what kind of outputs I can get and use.
Eventually I settled on the idea of blowing as the input, and the use of a motor as the output. I started testing out different ways and materials that I can use to complete a switch with just blowing air. Whatever I used needed to meet 2 criteria:
- It had to be conductive
- It had to be elastic, as in it had to move when blown on, but return to place when the blowing stops.
After some trial and error with wooden sticks and aluminum foil, I decided on this:
You blow on the hanging piece of cardboard wrapped in foil, and it’ll make contact with the stationary piece of cardboard wrapped in foil. In order to not make the hanging piece of cardboard hefty, the current is transferred through copper tape to the top wooden stick, also wrapped in foil, where the alligator clips connects this piece to the rest of the circuit.
As for the output, I scoured the IM lab for parts and found an already 3D printed fan that attaches to the DC motor. So I came up with the idea of the blowback machine! You blow to activate it and it blows back at you. Here is the final product:
And the circuit diagram:
Scanned_20180128-1438