This week, I ended up spending more time on the door lock than anticipated last week. Due to the interim demo coming up on April 1st, I wanted to get the lock to a more functional state in relation to the rest of the system; meaning that I needed to figure out Bluetooth, power for the device, setting up the speaker, and figuring out a solution for storing the songs on the device. The majority of the week thus was spent researching how to get the Seeed microcontroller to work with the keypad. After hours of researching and testing different libraries and methods, I was still unable to make a successful switch to the Seeed and therefore pivoted to researching different Bluetooth and microSD storage modules to use with the Arduino Uno R3 that currently works with the keypad and solenoid lock. However, I did make a small victory, successfully integrating a simple speaker and a short tune into the main Arduino script, as seen in the picture at the end.
Two main issues have come up in researching these alternatives to the Seeed, one being having enough of the necessary pins on the Arduino to operate the various modules, and the other being power consumption. There appear to be multiple modules needing to use the same clock pin, which I am uncertain about dealing with. And the issue of power doesn’t seem like it can be solved with a couple of AA batteries in series, as even four AAs only get the Arduino to 6V, where it needs 7-12V. This is a minor issue for the interim demo compared to getting Bluetooth and song storage figured out, as these are more important to demonstrate that the product will be complete by the final demo.
I currently feel that my progress is behind, due to the uncertainty about which parts I need to order. The main issue is that the parts needed for the lock change depending on whether we stick with the Arduino or continue to try to get the Seeed to work. To catch up this upcoming week, I plan to solidify what microcontroller I will use for the lock and order the necessary modules, minus the battery power supply.
Next week, I hope to have ordered the necessary parts to finish the lock, minus the battery power supply. While waiting for the parts to arrive, I can update the CAD model for the door lock housing and begin to figure out how the electronics will be placed in their final position. I may also look into designing a PCB to replace the breadboard and cut down on the size of the door lock, as well as researching a servo motor to replace the solenoid, as I found that the solenoid doesn’t truly lock.
