Programming an Arduino with Digital Input and Output
Last week’s foray into the world of electronics had me on the hunt for conductive materials. I found myself intrigued by the idea of conductive thread and yarn, but knew that ultimately I would need to understand how my Arduino board worked before planning anything bigger.
For this week, I decided to try to build off of my book switch and see if I could get some Arduino code to turn on a light when the book opens.
My previous attempt operated on a pressure plate principal, and as such worked in reverse. (Read: when the book was closed the light turned on.) This isn’t very useful unless maybe you want to check and see if a child is staying up late reading.
I started off watching Scott’s videos on circuits and trying to understand my board. I got the basic gist of what I was trying to program, but I was stuck on how I was going to make something that would give meaningful feedback.
Once I confirmed that I could successfully program the switch code, I took a look at my book.
My goal here was more about construction and understanding and less about making something useful or permanent at the moment.
Using tinfoil I proceeded to make temporary modifications to the book. I selected a hardcover this time because I wanted to access the spine, so I started by folding a piece of tin foil and sticking it into the spine.
Then I folded another piece and stuck it between the book and the jacket along the spine crease.
The solution isn’t perfect but it did work as intended. When the book opens the light turns on.
To move further with this idea, I need to take a better look at a book’s construction and find more malleable and less intrusive conductive materials. I am intrigued by using copper tape and wonder how a piece of copper tape might work with conductive thread or another type of conductive material.
The other thing that hinders this project is the fact that these wires are so shorts. Since I didn’t secure the wires to the tinfoil with anything they fell out easily.
Perhaps most importantly, I am also wondering how these wires will ultimately be hidden or encased in a final product. I understand that as a designer it’s my job to figure that out, and ultimately my decision, but with so many wires connected, I am starting to wonder how I might be able to test-run any ideas that should be portable.
Some Ways I Can Push This Project
- Use RGB Led light to display different colors depending on time of day
- Set LED to blink at a certain time signaling that it’s time to go to sleep
- Attach a speaker to it and get it to play a clip that says “leave me alone I’m reading” when it hears voices above a certain decible.
