My Project Idea:
I decided to build a project using an Arduino board that can detect when I wink. At first, I thought about making something that could sense how close my body was to a sensor. Later on in class, my teacher mentioned we shouldn’t use sensors for this project because that’s not what DigitalRead is about. So, I had to think of something else. That’s when I thought about how I often wink without even realizing it. I figured, why not turn that into my project? Surprisingly, setting up the breadboard, which I thought would be tough, turned out to be easier than I expected.
How It Works:
- Circuit Setup: I attached two small pieces of aluminum foil in a way that they sit close to my eye, one above and one below. These foils are connected to the Arduino board. I also connected a green LED to the Arduino, which acts as the output signal.
- Detecting the Wink: When I wink, the eyelid movement causes the two pieces of aluminum foil to touch. This touch closes the circuit, similar to pressing a button, but it’s my wink that makes it happen.
- Interacting With the Project: To interact with my project, all I have to do is wink. The aluminum foil pieces make contact, the Arduino notices the change, and the green LED lights up in response.
- Feedback: The lighting up of the green LED serves as immediate feedback that my wink was detected. It’s a simple and effective way to communicate the input action.
Some challenges that I faced with this project are:
- Getting the aluminum foil just right so it detects winks without false triggers from other facial movements was tricky.
- Keeping the foil safe and comfortable to wear around my eye needed thoughtful setup and possibly skin-friendly materials to avoid irritation which is why I opted to use a bandaid, which still seemed to irritated the area around my eyes.
Project Video: