Well, there is this course on 'Generation and Utilization of Electric Power' that I am taking that requires a project to demonstrate efficient utilization of power and I had the (not so new) idea of designing a cheap and smart auto light dimmer for it which works on ambient light detection.
The catch is that I wish it to involve some level of embedded design (actually, a PIC microcontroller) at its heart as I am just starting out with it and I'd like to explore its various applications.
Although I do wish to build a working prototype of the said model connected to say, an incandescent lamp or something (just for a demo), I am stuck at a few places to start with:
1. What kind of sensor could provide reasonable detection of ambient light variation but be cheap at the same time so the whole module is economical.
2. I have never connected my PIC to relatively high voltage ac sources before. What kind of interfacing might I need?
I have a few more queries but I guess I'll put them up after I have given them some more thought.
Any suggestions for improving this system and any useful pointers in general would be great!
Thanks!
The catch is that I wish it to involve some level of embedded design (actually, a PIC microcontroller) at its heart as I am just starting out with it and I'd like to explore its various applications.
Although I do wish to build a working prototype of the said model connected to say, an incandescent lamp or something (just for a demo), I am stuck at a few places to start with:
1. What kind of sensor could provide reasonable detection of ambient light variation but be cheap at the same time so the whole module is economical.
2. I have never connected my PIC to relatively high voltage ac sources before. What kind of interfacing might I need?
I have a few more queries but I guess I'll put them up after I have given them some more thought.
Any suggestions for improving this system and any useful pointers in general would be great!
Thanks!