GMU:The Conceptual Sensor/Rachel

Final Project

Beginnings - Disassembling an old stereo system and finding some interesting parts. We particularly liked the movement generated by the various motors, cogs and rubber bands controlling the CD player and the tape deck.

Experimenting with controlling this motion using various sensors (photo cell, audio jack) alongside a relay. Sending a signal to the relay would cause the motors to change direction and make the CD tray ‘dance’.

Wanting to continue with sensor controlled motion, we looked into paper mechanics. After some initial tests, it became clear that we needed a lot of control over the motor in order to preserve the paper. Therefore we replaced the relay with a servo motor and used an Arduino to set the style of motion. We also decided to use an Infra-red sensor so that our mechanism could be triggered by movement.

Paper Mechanics video

Arduino Code adapted from here