Published October 20, 2022

Littering Protest Object

A shoe that detects objects in front of it, alerts person of object with alarm/lights, and resets by shaking, all to protest against litter.

BeginnerFull instructions provided1 hour731

Things used in this project

Hardware components

Adafruit Circuit Playground Express

Adafruit lithium ion battery

Software apps and online services

Microsoft MakeCode

Hand tools and fabrication machines

Tape, Clear

Any Shoe

Just no flip flops or open toed shoes

Story

After visiting universities and downtown cities mostly for school and leisure, I can confirm that littering is a huge problem that is not getting enough attention. With so many trash cans lying around campus, you would think that littering would not be a concern on campus and yet it is. The littering shoe alarm is a simple design to protest littering by alerting the user to any object in front of the shoe. It accomplishes this by lighting up red and playing a loud alert noise when the light sensor senses the dark created by the object in the way. Simply flicking your foot while wearing this will clear the alarm and lights making an easy way to stop the alarm.

1 / 4 • Materials needed/ Plastic Covering is optional

Code

Protest Object Light Sensor Code

input.onLightConditionChanged(LightCondition.Dark, function () {
    light.showRing(
    `red red red red red red red red red red`
    )
    music.playSound(music.sounds(Sounds.Siren))
})
input.onLightConditionChanged(LightCondition.Bright, function () {
    light.showRing(
    `black black black black black black black black black black`
    )
})
input.onGesture(Gesture.Shake, function () {
    light.clear()
})
input.setLightThreshold(LightCondition.Bright, 50)
forever(function () {
    light.setBrightness(255)
    pause(0.5)
    light.setBrightness(0)
    pause(0.5)
})