Well you have a few options as to a mouse trap. There is of course the have a heart variety where no mice are harmed in your project and then there is the conventional mouse trap which will snap their little necks and about half decapitate them. The latter obviously kills them making them useless for further experimentation.

How to sense when either trap has sprung depands on the trap so let's set the sensor aside for a moment.

I suggest you Google ESP8266 which will happily join a WiFi network. They are inexpensive and plentiful. Much like an Arduino but with Internet. They are easily programmed using an Arduino IDE (Integrated Development Environment) which sounds more complicated than it actually is. Consult with your IT department as to use of the ESP8266 being compatible.

Back to sensor? I would use an IR light beam with the have a heart and a piezo sensor with the traditional mouse trap. Just tape it to the bottom and when the trap snaps it will create a pulse good enough to trip the ESP8266 module. There are likely a dozen ways to sense when a trap has been tripped depending on they type of trap.

If you want to get cool about it have the ESP8266 send a notification to your smart phone using an app like Blynk.

Ron

 

OK, here's the easy part - detecting a sprung trap:

View attachment 200042

I've been reading up and am looking at the LoRa technology. Are you familiar with LoRa and if so would the batteries for the sensor also be able to power the LoRa?

 

Well you have a few options as to a mouse trap. There is of course the have a heart variety where no mice are harmed in your project and then there is the conventional mouse trap which will snap their little necks and about half decapitate them. The latter obviously kills them making them useless for further experimentation.

How to sense when either trap has sprung depands on the trap so let's set the sensor aside for a moment.

I suggest you Google ESP8266 which will happily join a WiFi network. They are inexpensive and plentiful. Much like an Arduino but with Internet. They are easily programmed using an Arduino IDE (Integrated Development Environment) which sounds more complicated than it actually is. Consult with your IT department as to use of the ESP8266 being compatible.

Back to sensor? I would use an IR light beam with the have a heart and a piezo sensor with the traditional mouse trap. Just tape it to the bottom and when the trap snaps it will create a pulse good enough to trip the ESP8266 module. There are likely a dozen ways to sense when a trap has been tripped depending on they type of trap.

If you want to get cool about it have the ESP8266 send a notification to your smart phone using an app like Blynk.

Ron

i like the sensor idea but unfortunately the University Wifi doesn't allow us to connect with that kind of device.

 

i like the sensor idea but unfortunately the University Wifi doesn't allow us to connect with that kind of device.

Then what exactly does the university expect you to use? WiFi works to published standards so exactly how does the university expect a student to make a project where using WiFi is the most practical approach? OK, so at what distance unobstructed and obstructed do you expect this to work. I assume WiFi is out so considering FCC restrictions (unless you are outside the US (in which your own country's transmission guidelines apply) how would you like to send a tripped alarm signal? There is no sense in pursuing this if you can't tell us what is and is not acceptable?

Ron

 

I've been reading up and am looking at the LoRa technology. Are you familiar with LoRa and if so would the batteries for the sensor also be able to power the LoRa?

Sorry, I don't know.

As for battery voltage - that's entirely up to you. I only went with two 18650's because each has a voltage of 3.7 volts, giving you 7.4 volts. That's plenty to drive an LED and most MOSFETs.

 

As a last resort, can a blinking LED be hard wired to a place of visibility ? A latch, C555, LL FET, & red LED operating on 3V minimum. A good choice if a soft neck does not attenuate a piezo signal to much.

 

I've been reading up and am looking at the LoRa technology. Are you familiar with LoRa and if so would the batteries for the sensor also be able to power the LoRa?

I don't know much about LoRa myself, but a few quick searches leave be dubious about how it works indoors. It apparently has great range in line of sight situations, but it's less clear how well it works indoors. I haven't had time to read it, but I found a research paper that claims to investigate these particular questions. Might be worth reading:
https://www.researchgate.net/public..._of_LoRa_radio_for_an_indoor_IoT_applications

I agree with the others - the idea that you should develop your own network, independent of WiFi, when there's already WiFi there, is ridiculous. What's your next assignment - design a car that can't use circular wheels? Sure, you can find a way, but you shouldn't have to. If this were just a class assignment to test your ingenuity, I would understand the addition of such artificial limits, but if they actually want the most practical solution, they should allow you to use WiFi!!!