When it rains, we need to close the windows to ensure that our room does not get flooded. We usually do not think much of such things that we do without much thought.
However, for the disabled, getting to the windows and closing them can be a great ordeal.
It would be nice if the windows can close themselves at the press of a button.
How about going one step further? What if we did not even need to press the button?
When it rains, automatically close the windows. When it is dry, automatically open the windows again!
Continuing from where we last talked about Smart Homes in our post on turning old appliances into smart devices, one idea is to connect this sensor to our Smart Home Platform!
Introducing a simple rain or water spill sensor
And let's see how the rain sensor can work together with a smart window
Click here to open in YouTube.
There are many kinds of sensors available, such as those that measure temperature, humidity, smoke, or noise.
And there are many kinds of actuators available, including motors, servos, water dispensers, speakers, lights, and basically any electronic device!
For this particular experiment, the sensor was a water sensor (for the Rain Sensor), and the actuator was a motor (for the Smart Window)
Are you itching to build something yourself?
Amazon has starter kits where you can quickly get started, such as the ones below:
- Elegoo UNO R3 Project Complete Starter Kit with Tutorial for Arduino (no direct shipping to Singapore)
- Arduino Uno 3 Ultimate Starter Kit Includes Step by Step instruction guide (ships directly to Singapore)
Update on 2nd June 2017
Someone asked us for help on how to put together a simple rain sensor, so we've created a list of possible components and a simple diagram below.
Components required (The Elegoo UNO R3 Set sold on Amazon conveniently includes all the components that you can use for this):
- Arduino UNO R3 or other Microcontroller with Analogue input
- Water Sensor
- Piezo Buzzer
- Connecting Wires / Jumper Cables
- Power Source, or you can use the default Arduino USB cable to connect to a USB power source
Do you have prefer us to help you to turn your idea into a working prototype?
Or are you interested to have someone conduct a hands-on introductory workshop for you? (minimum 3 persons)
Do reach out to us via Facebook or via email.
