Published December 14, 2024 © GPL3+

Automated Bird Feeder

Feeds and records local bird populations.

BeginnerWork in progress5 hours72

Things used in this project

Hardware components

SG90 Micro-servo motor

Particle Photon

S40 ST High Accuracy Thin Kraftsensor Pressure Sensor Pad Film Pressure Sensor Force Sensor for Intelligent High End Seat

Jumper wires (generic)

Alligator Clips

Resistor 1k ohm

Software apps and online services

Google Sheets

Particle Build Web IDE

Serial Monitor

Story

Birding has been of interest for me because it offers me a nice change of pace from schoolwork and other responsibilities. However, these responsibilities, which I intend to escape from, prevent me from spending more time bird watching. Nonetheless, there exists the need for citizen birders or scientists to do their part. This allows for remote identification of birds using a force sensor which is calibrated to detect only the weights of House Sparrows and Cardinals.

The first challenge involved getting input from the force sensor. Initial tests were done by using my hand to squeeze the force sensor to get an output. The circuit below was used to get readings to print to the serial monitor spaceHuhn. A 10 K Ohm resistor was used in series with the force sensor which received its current from the VUSB pin on the photon. The other pin was connected to a jumper wire which was connected to analog pin 1. The sensor was then grounded to the particle device GND pin.

The second part of setting up the sensor is matching the readings with the estimated weights of the birds. This is simply done by using physics lab masses or items around your house of known masses equal to the average mass of a house sparrow, northern Cardinal, and tree squirrel.

Now, the process of data collection is automated by use of a webhook which is triggered each time an animal steps onto the force sensor. Three separate functions were made which all called the same webhook. The purpose of this was to have a consistent formatting, with each row having the date of the trigger, the count of the species, and a third number between 101 and 103 indicating which species it is.

This is basic information on the Webhook. See the particle documentation for more details.

This is how the data was formatted in the Google sheet.

The bird feeder was constructed out 8.5 in by 6.5 in pieces of cardboard cut from a box with a handle in the front panel. These pieces were hot glued togethalonger their edges. The birdseed will slide out of the bird feeder through this handle. The flap was constructed to be a square of dimensions 6.0 in by 6.0 in. The flap was then connected to a strip of cardboard an inch wide with the same length. This created the extended motor arm for the Servo.

Motor Arm

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1oTkuSZiQmu0PAWDFJDQudDCo_nEi8trq

Link to video of working final circuitry and programming. The longer line of code that appears once the sensor is pressed hard enough indicates that the data has been published to the Google sheet.

Flap placed inside bird feeder

This shows the initial slit into which the flap was inserted.

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1oTkuSZiQmu0PAWDFJDQudDCo_nEi8trq

Holes were then cut into the lower end of the box for alligator clips to pushed through connecting the force sensor at the front/receiving end of the bird feeder to the breadboard at the rear of the bird feeder. A notch was cut beneath the slit to allow space for the motor arm to rotate through. The Servo motor was fixed to the bird feeder using masking tape as shown below.

The images above represent the final product. Unfortunately, the way the Servo is fixed to the bird feeder in this project gives it an additional degree of freedom, such that when it provides a torque to the flap, the plastic containment for the servo's circuitry is pushed, causing it to break free from its strap of tape.

Code

  function test() {
  var e = {};
  e.parameter = {};
  e.parameter.event = 'sheetTest1';
  e.parameter.data = '[1,1234]';
  e.parameter.coreid = '1f0030001647ffffffffffff';
  e.parameter.published_at = new Date().toISOString();
  doPost(e);
}

function doPost(e) {
  // e.parameter.event
  // e.parameter.data
  // e.parameter.coreid
  // e.parameter.published_at "2016-04-16T13:37:08.728Z"

  var publishedAt = new Date(e.parameter.published_at);

  var dataArray = [];
  try {
    dataArray = JSON.parse(e.parameter.data);
  }
  catch(e) {
  }

  var sheet = SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSheet();

  var row = [e.parameter.coreid, publishedAt];

  row = row.concat(dataArray);

  sheet.appendRow(row);

  var result = {};
  result.ok = true;

  return ContentService.createTextOutput(JSON.stringify(result))
    .setMimeType(ContentService.MimeType.JSON);
}

// This #include statement was automatically added by the Particle IDE.

#include "Particle.h"

SYSTEM_THREAD(ENABLED);

SerialLogHandler logHandler;


Servo myServo; //declares servo object

// How often to publish a value
const std::chrono::milliseconds publishPeriod = 30s;

// The event name to publish with
const char *eventName = "sheetTest1";



unsigned long lastPublish; 

int squirrel = 0; // Initial population of squirrels, cardinals, and sparrows
int cardinal = 0;
int sparrow = 0;
int fsrPin = A1; // Designates which pin reads the force sensor's output
int fsrReading; // The value which is output by the force sensor
int servoPosI = 90; // Initial position of the servo
int servoPosF = 45; // Final position of the servo

void publishTest(); //These methods trigger the webhooks
void publishTest1();
void publishTest2();

void setup() {
     Serial.begin(9600); //Initializes Serial Monitor 
   
    pinMode(fsrPin,INPUT); // Designates fsrPin as an INPUT
   
    myServo.attach(1); // Connects the servo to the Pulse with Modulation Pin located at Pin 1
    myServo.write(servoPosI); // Sets Servo to its initial position
    
    
}

void loop() {
    
     fsrReading = analogRead(fsrPin); 
     
     Serial.println("Analog reading = " + String(fsrReading));
        delay(1000); // Prints sensor reading to serial monitor 
     

              if(fsrReading>50){ // Condition for when a squirrel or animal larger than a squirrel or sparrow steps on the sensor 
                publishTest();
                delay(3000);
              }
                
              if(fsrReading>40 && fsrReading<=50){ // Condition for when a cardinal steps on the sensor 
                publishTest1();
                     myServo.write(servoPosI);
                delay(1000);
                     myServo.write(servoPosF);
                delay(3000);
              }
              
            if(fsrReading>35 && fsrReading<=40){ // Condition for when a sparrow steps on the sensor 
                publishTest2();
                    myServo.write(servoPosI);
                delay(1000);
                    myServo.write(servoPosF);
                delay(3000);
              }
 
}

void publishTest() { // publishes the value [squirrel,103] to the spreadsheet, recording a squirrel or larger mammal
    char buf[128];

    snprintf(buf, sizeof(buf), "[%d,%d]", ++squirrel, 103);

    Particle.publish(eventName, buf, PRIVATE);
    Log.info("published: %s", buf);
}  

void publishTest1(){ // publishes the value [cardinal,102] to the spreadsheet, recording a cardinal 
        char buf[128];

    snprintf(buf, sizeof(buf), "[%d,%d]", ++cardinal, 102);

    Particle.publish(eventName, buf, PRIVATE);
    Log.info("published: %s", buf);
    
}

void publishTest2(){ // publishes the value [sparrow,101] to the spreadsheet, recording a sparrow
         char buf[128];

    snprintf(buf, sizeof(buf), "[%d,%d]", ++sparrow, 101);

    Particle.publish(eventName, buf, PRIVATE);
    Log.info("published: %s", buf);   
}

Automated Bird Feeder

Things used in this project

Hardware components

Software apps and online services

Story

Schematics

Force Sensor Circuit

Final Circuit

Code

Spreadsheet Test

Main Program

Credits

Patrick Jackson

Comments

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Automated Bird Feeder

Automated Bird Feeder

Things used in this project

Hardware components

Software apps and online services

Story

Schematics

Force Sensor Circuit

Final Circuit

Code

Spreadsheet Test

Main Program

Credits

Patrick Jackson

Comments

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