Published April 22, 2022

Autonomous IoT Pet Feeder

Our Pet Feeder puts your mind at ease by ensuring that your pet is well fed while you are away from home!

IntermediateFull instructions provided245

Things used in this project

Hardware components

SparkFun Ultrasonic Sensor - HC-SR04

Particle Argon

Jumper wires (generic)

USB-A to Mini-USB Cable

SG90 Micro-servo motor

Solderless Breadboard Half Size

Dog Food Bowls

Software apps and online services

Google Sheets

Particle Build Web IDE

IFTTT SmartThings service

Hand tools and fabrication machines

3D Printer (generic)

Story

Purpose

This project was intended to help pet owners feed their pets while they are away from home whether at work, or on vacation! With our motion activated dog feeder, our product uses the communication between two Particle Argons to reliably feed your pets.

The first Argon (Kingsley) uses an ultrasonic sensor to sense the presence of a pet and then sends that signal to the second Argon (Mohra). Argon 2 (Mohra) then activates a servo motor which rotates 90 degrees thereby allowing food to flow through the hole of our 3d printed Food Holder. The pet food then falls out into the designated bowl and after dispensing enough food, the servo rotates back to its original point to cover up the hole. The program of the servo can be easily updated so that less or more food is dispensed at a time. Also, we have assigned a lock out after each meal to avoid overfeeding and waste. The lock out time can easily be adjusted by the owners. Lastly, our program offers a live data that the owners can access from anywhere to know when their dog last meal was and how many meals they are getting throughout the day!

Ultrasonic Sensor Setup with Particle Argon

Technical Specifications for Ultrasonic Sensor:

Power Supply − +5V DC

Quiescent Current − <2mA

Working Current − 15mA

Effectual Angle − <15°

Ranging Distance − 2cm – 400 cm/1″ – 13ft

Resolution − 0.3 cm

Measuring Angle − 30 degree

The Ultrasonic Sensor Has Four Terminals:

Connect the 3.3V pin on the Particle Argon to the VCC connection on HC-SR04.

Connect Trigger to digital pin 2 on your Particle Argon.

Connect Echo to digital pin 6 on your Particle Argon.

Connect GND with GND on Particle Argon.

HC-SR04 Ultrasonic Sensor Connection :

Ultrasonic Sensor Circuit Connection

Micro servo Motor Setup with Particle Argon

Technical Specifications for Micro Servo Motor:

Power Supply − +5V DC

Range -180º

Quiescent Current − <2mA

Operating Speed- 0.1 sec/ 60º

Torque – 1.6 kg.cm

Pull Weight – 2.5 kg

The Micro Servo Motor Has Three Terminals:

Connect Brown wire to GND on Particle Argon.

Connect Red wire to 3.3V Pin on Particle Argon.

Connect Orange wire to pin D2 on Particle Argon.

9g Micro Servo Motor Connection:

Servo Motor Circuit Connection

IFTTT and Google Sheets

To demonstrate the communication between the two particle Argon devices and to keep track of the pet feeding process, a Live Data MEGR3171_IOTMK was created in google sheets using IFTTT software (https://ifttt.com/explore).

The steps to do so are listed below:

1. Create an IFTTT account

2. Click create under applets.

3. Select Add under "If This", and choose Particle.

3. Choose " New Event Published", and enter your Event Name, Event Contents, and the Device Name or ID.

4. Create Trigger then Add to "Then That".

5. Select Google Sheets and specify the name of your google sheet.

6. Select Finish and the applet should be ready to record live events and send the data to google sheets.

The Live Data can be accessed by following the link below:

MEGR3171_IOTMK

Google Sheets: Data Collected andGraph of Live Data

Graph of Live Data

ProjectImages:

Updated Solid Model

Supporting mechanism for Argon 2

Video: Proof that the Pet Feeder Actually Works

Prototype YouTube video:

Prototype Trail

3d Printed DesignYouTube video:

3D Printed Design Trail

Schematics

Code

// Pin Definitions

#define HCSR04_PIN_TRIG	D2
#define HCSR04_PIN_ECHO	D6

int sound = 0;
bool armed = true; 
int timenow = 0;
int future = 0;

void setup() {
  // put your setup code here, to run once:
  Serial.begin(9600);
 
  pinMode(HCSR04_PIN_TRIG, OUTPUT);
  pinMode(HCSR04_PIN_ECHO, INPUT);
 
}

void loop() {
  // put your main code here, to run repeatedly:
  long timeTaken, distance;
  digitalWrite(HCSR04_PIN_TRIG, LOW);
  delayMicroseconds(2);
  digitalWrite(HCSR04_PIN_TRIG, HIGH);
  delayMicroseconds(10);
  digitalWrite(HCSR04_PIN_TRIG, LOW);
  timeTaken = pulseIn(HCSR04_PIN_ECHO, HIGH);//determine distance of wave
  distance = (timeTaken/2)/29.1;//using timeTaken calc distance of object

  /*determine corressponding leds to light up with respect to the distance
  of object*/


    if(distance<=60 && armed ){
       Particle.publish("MEGR3171_IOTMK","Motionin",PUBLIC);
       armed = false;
       timenow = millis();
       future = timenow + 10000; //10s in the future


    }
    else{
}
    delay(1000);
  


    if(millis() > future){  //do it again
    armed = true;
    }}

/ subscribes the receiver Argon to the published events from the
// mesauring argon. In the last arguement for the subscribe function, enter
// the device ID from the publishing argon.
Servo myservo;  // create servo object to control a servo
                // a maximum of eight servo objects can be created

int pos = 0;    // variable to store the servo position
void setup() {
    


    myservo.attach(D2);   // attach the servo on the D2 pin to the servo object
    
   


   
    Particle.subscribe("MEGR3171_IOTMK", b);
   
}
// converts Unix time data from subscribe functions to an integer value


void b(const char *event, const char *data) {
     
 loop();
{
  for(pos = 0; pos < 90; pos += 1)  // goes from 0 degrees to 180(now 100) degrees ; in steps of 1 degree
  {                                  
    myservo.write(pos);              // tell servo to go to position in variable 'pos'
    delay(10);                       // waits 15ms for the servo to reach the position
  }
  for(pos = 90; pos>=1; pos-=1)     // goes from 180 degrees(now 100) to 0 degrees
  {
    myservo.write(pos);              // tell servo to go to position in variable 'pos'
    delay(10);                       // waits 15ms for the servo to reach the position
  }
}}

Credits

Mahraiel Hanna

1 project • 0 followers

Andrew Ibeh-kingsley

1 project • 0 followers

Autonomous IoT Pet Feeder