User:Vilius

Contact

    Vilius Vaura 

    0975637@hr.nl 

    Product Design

Project 2

CalmCat

by Monika Sumauskaite, Vilius Vaura, Sol Chadwick




A jacket created to calm down a stressed-out cat. When the cat, wearing this jacket, meows anxiously or an increase of a heartbeat is detected, straps tightness and applies gentle pressure on the belly of the cat, stimulating specific acupressure points, that are proven to have calming effects.

Acupressure points



It is known that acupressure techniques can help to relax and overcome stress in humans and animals, like cats. There are multiple bumps on the inside of the jacket to stimulate those points when the cat is stressed. [1][2]

Sound/Heartbeat activation



The tightening of the jacket could be activated in a few different ways. The technology could use sound/voice recognition, that would be able to distinguish a stressful meow.
Or a heartbeat sensor could be used. Normal cats pulse varies from 140 to 220 beats per minute. An integrated heartbeat sensor would detect its rise and activate the straps.

Self lacing/tightening technology



The Calm Cat jacked would include a self-tightening, “cat activated” straps. The technology could work on similar principles as Nikes or Back to the Futures self-lacing shoes.

Project 3

Ring dial phone dissection

I chose to dissect rotary dial phone because I was very curious how dial mechanism works. At first glance, it looked complicated, but after further investigation, electronic part of it appeared quite simple. This whole mechanism acts as a button in phone's circuit, generating pulses according to the number you choose.

Microphone This part creates electrical signals from sound waves. When membrane starts to vibrate from sound waves, with the help of electromagnet it generates electrical signal.
Speaker: This part creates sound from electrical signals with electromagnet and vibrating membrane.
Dial mechanism: As the dial rotates, it interrupts the circuit running through dial mechanism, like a button, creating dialing pulses. For example, if you dial number "8" you create eight pulses, dial "0" and you make ten pulses.
Bells: These half sphere metal objects are used to create sound to indicate an incoming call.
Electromagnet: When the phone rings, this electrically controlled magnet switches on and off rapidly, moving a clapper in between the bells and making them ring.
Tilting switch mechanism: This detects when the handset is lifted or put back. If the handset rests on the switch, it cuts off the connection between the phone and the local exchange. The circuit is opened only when you lift the handset.

Remake

After thinking for a bit about what could I create new from this phone, I realized, that instead of creating something new, I should upgrade it. I came up with idea to solve this phone's biggest flaw - forgetting what you have dialed. I tried to eliminate this problem using Arduino UNO and LCD screen.
First of all, I connected Arduino to the dial mechanism and uploaded a code. That gave me access to rotary dial's generated pulses. After making that pulses could be read by Arduino, I added an LCD display. Upgrading the code did the trick, and after a week of trial and error I managed to make the screen show dialed numbers. To make this upgrade work more naturally I connected microcontroller's circuit to tilting switch mechanism.

After putting everything inside phone's case I had successfully created upgraded rotary dial phone's version. When person lifts the handset from the phone's dock, tilting switch mechanism turns on LCD display. Numbers dialed by rotary dial are displayed on LCD. Once you put down the handset back on the dock, screen restarts and turns off ready for another session.