Projets:Perso:2013:AutomaticCatFeeder

This automatic cat feeder have to precisely weigh the food (1 gram precision).

Brainstorming:
 * a turning cylinder with a trap for filing and a hole for emptying.
 * on a side just a hole
 * on the other side the filing trap
 * a bowl fixed to a scale with a servomotor receive the food.
 * when the desired weight is reached, the bowl is poured to a dish.
 * Battery and wall-plug powered.(In case of power breakdown)
 * Detect when the food level is low in the cylinder (IR barrier)

Preliminary:
 * find a scale who can be easily read by an arduino
 * find the size of the hole in the cylinder

Electronic/Hardware/Software:
 * Arduino with SDcard/RTC
 * Serial to bluetooth module

Power:
 * USB battery charger connected to a 5V wall-plug.
 * Provide 5V even if the power is down.

Ideas:
 * http://andres-leon.blogspot.fr/2009/04/my-first-arduino-project-diy-automatic.html
 * http://hackedgadgets.com/2009/12/01/internet-enabled-cat-feeder/

=Progress=

23/05/2013
Extraction of a Strain gauge from an electronic scales (about 8€ on ebay). The scale is build for a maximum of 1kg, after 1kg the voltage continue to raise

=TODO=
 * Add gain to the strain gauge to have 5V when 1kg is reached.
 * Prototyping of the tube feeder.
 * Find a transparent tube (for prototype grey pvc tube)

Feel free to correct my english!