Initially we were going to use infrared proximity sensors to sense when people or objects came near the perimeter of the umbrella.
The limitations of this were:
-Cost: $12 a sensor limited number of sensors we could afford
-Horizontal Range: The sensor was a single beam that did not sense in a radius making many sensors necessary in order to not have lots of blind spots.
-Size: Although fairly small, they were relatively large for an umbrella. Again, if we were to use many sensors, our umbrella would weigh a lot and sag.
Solution:
"roach sensors" which are a very basic type of switch. It can be home made with a coil of wire suspended around a central wire. When the center wire is bent (showing contact with an object), it hits the coiled wire and a circuit is completed.
We will be able to make lots of these cheaply and place them all around the outside of our umbrella.
Secondly, a motor is needed to pull the umbrella edges down. The first motor we ordered was awesomely small! But also oh so weak. We'll have to re-think this one:
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