I have a handheld RF communicating device that I use for finding my cats when they need to come in (they have tags on their collars), but so often I cannot find them and instead just check from my window every 10 minutes until I get them.
To locate a single cat repeatedly I press the grey button, then the centre button, wait 90 seconds until it times out, then repeat.
To locate a different cat each time I press grey, down, centre, wait 90 seconds, repeat.
So this morning, I had the ingenious idea of building a device that could do this automatically with my old arduino I bought a year ago but never used.
It would consist of a wooden cradle to hold the device and 3 or more arms above the buttons which will push down when given the signal.
All of this will be controlled by an arduino, and depending on which of the 2 cat's I've found I want 2 push buttons on the arduino which will set a mode (ie, the sequences I stated above)
I guess all I need to know is what can I use that will push the buttons via a boolean input?
I'm hoping there is a common component that is small, lightweight and cheap that I can buy several of which I can operate with an arduino.
I need the buttons to stay intact because I want to be able to remove it from the cradle and use it outside when I want to.
Here's a very basic picture of what I have in mind:
Oops, just noticed my embarrassing spelling mistake!
For my idea I only need 3 button pushers but if they're cheap and small I might as well cover every button.
Also, if all goes well I might want to be able to operate it through a computer via the wired network/wi-fi/Bluetooth.
To locate a single cat repeatedly I press the grey button, then the centre button, wait 90 seconds until it times out, then repeat.
To locate a different cat each time I press grey, down, centre, wait 90 seconds, repeat.
So this morning, I had the ingenious idea of building a device that could do this automatically with my old arduino I bought a year ago but never used.
It would consist of a wooden cradle to hold the device and 3 or more arms above the buttons which will push down when given the signal.
All of this will be controlled by an arduino, and depending on which of the 2 cat's I've found I want 2 push buttons on the arduino which will set a mode (ie, the sequences I stated above)
I guess all I need to know is what can I use that will push the buttons via a boolean input?
I'm hoping there is a common component that is small, lightweight and cheap that I can buy several of which I can operate with an arduino.
I need the buttons to stay intact because I want to be able to remove it from the cradle and use it outside when I want to.
Here's a very basic picture of what I have in mind:
Oops, just noticed my embarrassing spelling mistake!
For my idea I only need 3 button pushers but if they're cheap and small I might as well cover every button.
Also, if all goes well I might want to be able to operate it through a computer via the wired network/wi-fi/Bluetooth.