Creative Switch: Trash Can

For my first Arduino project, I was struggling to find ideas that didn’t involve my hands. I looked around my room, trying to utilize what I already have, and searched for objects that require the use of the body (not hands) to function. Which is when I saw my trash can! The idea was simple, create a circuit that closes when I press down on the trash can to open, and the circuit opens when I remove my foot. I used two foil pieces one stuck to the ground and one to the bottom of the trash can lever, allowing them to intersect and close the circuit when I press down with my foot. 

Additionally, the code was pretty straightforward, exactly what we’ve been doing in class:

const int ledPin = 2;
const int foilPin = 3;

void setup() {
  pinMode(ledPin, OUTPUT);
  pinMode(foilPin, INPUT);
  Serial.begin(9600);
}
void loop() {
  int buttonState = digitalRead(foilPin);
  Serial.println(buttonState); 
  digitalWrite(ledPin, buttonState); 
}

Overall, the code functions by reading the state of the aluminum foil switch and uses that info to control the state of the LED (high/low). When the switch is closed, the LED turns on, and when the switch is open, the LED turns off.

However, I faced several issues during my project:

Error messages from IDE kep showing up, after multiple attempts to troubleshoot (going back and forth between Arduino and IDE) I decided to restart my laptop and Arduino board which ended up solving the issue.

My second issue was that the Led light stays on regardless of the foils touching or not, it’s like the circuit was complete or was not relying on the foils. However, when the foils do touch the led light gets brighter which meant there was an intervention from the foils but not exactly what I’m looking for. I tried to find ways to trouble shoot this but ended up giving up after going back and forth with the code and the board. 

Here’s a Demo:IMG_6092 2