For our clutter reduction shelf, we are considering a few methods of input and output.
We have a few ideas for how the shelf might prompt toy clean-up. One idea is to make cleaning "Mission Impossible" themed: after toys have been out of the shelf for a certain amount of time (or once a certain number of toys are out), the theme song would play, and the child would be prompted to race the song and clean up before it ends. Another possibility is to give each toy a "home shelf". After a designated period of time, the toy might get "homesick" and ask to be returned to its shelf. We also considered using LEDs to highlight the shelves with missing toys, but we weren't sure if it will be persuasive/noticeable enough.
Input:One method of sensing the presence of a toy in the storage unit (or maybe the total mass of the toys, depending on the accuracy of the sensor) would be to have a hanging basket, instead of a wooden shelf, and use a stretch sensor to measure the stretch caused by the size or weight of the toy. A painted fabric stretch sensor can be found here: http://www.kobakant.at/DIY/?p=1836, but a knit stretch sensor seems to be a better idea. One example can be found here:http://www.kobakant.at/DIY/?p=2108.
We could also think about using RFID to track specific items in the shelf. This might work best, if we want each toy to have a certain "home", but having stickers or tags on the toys might not be the most desirable. If we can't find a discreet way to attach an RFID tag to a toy, we might consider having a generic voice for each shelf (perhaps the shelf can ask to have its toy back?) to give it character.
Another thing we need to sense is the time of day. If our shelf has audio feedback, we don't want it playing while a child is sleeping in the same room. Since the Arduino isn't the best for tracking anything but internal time, we could use a real time clock module like this one:http://www.sparkfun.com/products/99. Or, we could try to determine if a) it is daytime, or b) someone is in the room. For this, we could use a photo resistor (since, most likely, kids aren't going to be running around in the dark) or a PIR sensor (maybe less reliable, since a child might trigger it, if they get up during the night). A photo resistor maybe be the most economical solution for this problem.
Output:We would like the shelf to prompt clean-up with sound: as I looked into it, this looks more complicated (or more expensive) than I anticipated. We can get an mp3 player shield here:http://www.sparkfun.com/products/10628. We can apparently build a wave audio shield for slightly less money, but we'll have to look at this further and see if we're up to the challengehttp://www.adafruit.com/products/94. This Instructables tutorial shows you how to disassemble a cheap mp3 player and use it with the Arduino: http://www.instructables.com/id/MP3-Interface-for-Arduino-Cheap-and-Easy/. Since we don't need to repurpose this for a ton of other projects, something like this may be our best bet as far as cost...but it would depend on the mp3 player we find.
Breaking down the act of taking a toy from a cubby space, playing with the toy, and then replacing the toy to its original position, is a relatively simple set of actions. We have a few ideas on how to document these actions and allow an arduino board and sensors help condition good organizational habits early on, and enable a clutter free space for both the playroom and future spaces over the child’s development.
Input:
The first thing the cubby would have to sense is the absence of a toy. When a child takes a toy from the shelf, the cubby is left empty. During this moment, the cubby must recognize the toy has been removed. We’re thinking that the toy’s weight, when sitting in the cubby, would press down on a button of some sort, and when lifted, the button would be released, indicating to the arduino board that the toy had been removed. To sense the removal of the toy we would possibly utilize a push button under the surface of the cubby such as this and use a Hold System in the code.
We also considered a pressure sensor. With the toy placed in the same cubby space, the arduino could read a consistent weight and recognize when the toy is in use when that specific weight drastically changes. We could use a pressure sensor like the one here or here to gauge the inconsistencies in weight within each cubby space.
When the child is playing with the toy, the pressure sensor or button of whatever sort must begin timing how long the toy is absent from the cubby space. Ideally, the child would have whatever programmed time the parent indicated on the arduino board. In order to do this, we would use a timer to begin recording the instant the toy is removed from the cubby.
Output:
When the timer reaches the limitation indicated by the adult user, the cubby must remind the child to put the toys back to their correct spot. This will be completed through an auditory response, something the child could hear and associate with cleaning up his/her toys. For this, the cubby system would have something like this to add an auditory element to this system that would indicate the child needed to return toys to the cubby. This element would be triggered after the pressure sensor and timer reached the programmed limit of play time and insisted the child replace the item to the cubby.
We also considered a pressure sensor. With the toy placed in the same cubby space, the arduino could read a consistent weight and recognize when the toy is in use when that specific weight drastically changes. We could use a pressure sensor like the one here or here to gauge the inconsistencies in weight within each cubby space.
When the child is playing with the toy, the pressure sensor or button of whatever sort must begin timing how long the toy is absent from the cubby space. Ideally, the child would have whatever programmed time the parent indicated on the arduino board. In order to do this, we would use a timer to begin recording the instant the toy is removed from the cubby.
We have a few ideas for how the shelf might prompt toy clean-up. One idea is to make cleaning "Mission Impossible" themed: after toys have been out of the shelf for a certain amount of time (or once a certain number of toys are out), the theme song would play, and the child would be prompted to race the song and clean up before it ends. Another possibility is to give each toy a "home shelf". After a designated period of time, the toy might get "homesick" and ask to be returned to its shelf. We also considered using LEDs to highlight the shelves with missing toys, but we weren't sure if it will be persuasive/noticeable enough.
Input:One method of sensing the presence of a toy in the storage unit (or maybe the total mass of the toys, depending on the accuracy of the sensor) would be to have a hanging basket, instead of a wooden shelf, and use a stretch sensor to measure the stretch caused by the size or weight of the toy. A painted fabric stretch sensor can be found here: http://www.kobakant.at/DIY/?p=1836, but a knit stretch sensor seems to be a better idea. One example can be found here:http://www.kobakant.at/DIY/?p=2108.
We could also think about using RFID to track specific items in the shelf. This might work best, if we want each toy to have a certain "home", but having stickers or tags on the toys might not be the most desirable. If we can't find a discreet way to attach an RFID tag to a toy, we might consider having a generic voice for each shelf (perhaps the shelf can ask to have its toy back?) to give it character.
Another thing we need to sense is the time of day. If our shelf has audio feedback, we don't want it playing while a child is sleeping in the same room. Since the Arduino isn't the best for tracking anything but internal time, we could use a real time clock module like this one:http://www.sparkfun.com/products/99. Or, we could try to determine if a) it is daytime, or b) someone is in the room. For this, we could use a photo resistor (since, most likely, kids aren't going to be running around in the dark) or a PIR sensor (maybe less reliable, since a child might trigger it, if they get up during the night). A photo resistor maybe be the most economical solution for this problem.
Output:We would like the shelf to prompt clean-up with sound: as I looked into it, this looks more complicated (or more expensive) than I anticipated. We can get an mp3 player shield here:http://www.sparkfun.com/products/10628. We can apparently build a wave audio shield for slightly less money, but we'll have to look at this further and see if we're up to the challengehttp://www.adafruit.com/products/94. This Instructables tutorial shows you how to disassemble a cheap mp3 player and use it with the Arduino: http://www.instructables.com/id/MP3-Interface-for-Arduino-Cheap-and-Easy/. Since we don't need to repurpose this for a ton of other projects, something like this may be our best bet as far as cost...but it would depend on the mp3 player we find.
Breaking down the act of taking a toy from a cubby space, playing with the toy, and then replacing the toy to its original position, is a relatively simple set of actions. We have a few ideas on how to document these actions and allow an arduino board and sensors help condition good organizational habits early on, and enable a clutter free space for both the playroom and future spaces over the child’s development.
Input:
The first thing the cubby would have to sense is the absence of a toy. When a child takes a toy from the shelf, the cubby is left empty. During this moment, the cubby must recognize the toy has been removed. We’re thinking that the toy’s weight, when sitting in the cubby, would press down on a button of some sort, and when lifted, the button would be released, indicating to the arduino board that the toy had been removed. To sense the removal of the toy we would possibly utilize a push button under the surface of the cubby such as this and use a Hold System in the code.
We also considered a pressure sensor. With the toy placed in the same cubby space, the arduino could read a consistent weight and recognize when the toy is in use when that specific weight drastically changes. We could use a pressure sensor like the one here or here to gauge the inconsistencies in weight within each cubby space.
When the child is playing with the toy, the pressure sensor or button of whatever sort must begin timing how long the toy is absent from the cubby space. Ideally, the child would have whatever programmed time the parent indicated on the arduino board. In order to do this, we would use a timer to begin recording the instant the toy is removed from the cubby.
Output:
When the timer reaches the limitation indicated by the adult user, the cubby must remind the child to put the toys back to their correct spot. This will be completed through an auditory response, something the child could hear and associate with cleaning up his/her toys. For this, the cubby system would have something like this to add an auditory element to this system that would indicate the child needed to return toys to the cubby. This element would be triggered after the pressure sensor and timer reached the programmed limit of play time and insisted the child replace the item to the cubby.
We also considered a pressure sensor. With the toy placed in the same cubby space, the arduino could read a consistent weight and recognize when the toy is in use when that specific weight drastically changes. We could use a pressure sensor like the one here or here to gauge the inconsistencies in weight within each cubby space.
When the child is playing with the toy, the pressure sensor or button of whatever sort must begin timing how long the toy is absent from the cubby space. Ideally, the child would have whatever programmed time the parent indicated on the arduino board. In order to do this, we would use a timer to begin recording the instant the toy is removed from the cubby.
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