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Automated Pet feeder. Presented by: Carl Skeene. OUTLINE. Motivation Introduction Problem statement Assumption Proposed solution Results Conclusion Future work References Acknowledgements. MOTIVATION. Cats waking me up too early Regular feeding schedule
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AutomatedPet feeder Presented by: Carl Skeene
OUTLINE • Motivation • Introduction • Problem statement • Assumption • Proposed solution • Results • Conclusion • Future work • References • Acknowledgements
MOTIVATION • Cats waking me up too early • Regular feeding schedule • Not being home for days at a time
INTRODUCTION • My cats always wanted to eat at 5:30 am every morning. Not needing to get up until 6:15 it became a pain, because they are relentless when they want me to get up. • New work schedule keeps me away from home quite a bit. I need a solution to allow me to keep them on a regular feeding schedule without over feeding. • Tried store bought feeders that allow for food to refill itself.
INTRODUCTION Cont. • Feeder that refills doesn’t work due to one of my cats abusing the endless food. • Got the idea for my feeder from Mathew Newton who came in second in Mac|Lifes: Top Ten Wonders of the Home Automation World. http://www.maclife-digital.com/maclife/201003/?pg=33#pg33
PROBLEM STATEMENT • Need a feeder automatically operate at two specific times in the day • Ability to control the feeder from locations away from home
Assumptions • That my cats will let me sleep as long as they have food at the right time. • That I will be able to stay away from home when needed without worry
PROPOSED SOLUTION • Steps taken to solve the problem of the cats feeding time: • Deciding to use microcontroller or PLC • Went with the PLC after doing internet searches and found the Nano-10 PLC • Nano-10 offers what I needed regarding onboard server for web apps and Ethernet connections for network communication
PROPOSED SOLUTION Cont. • Assembly had a few difficult parts, filing the rod and coupling to connect the dispenser and the motor
RESULTS • Functioning pet feeder • Automatically feeds twice a day • Ability to control feeder manually from inside or outside of home network
CONCLUSIONS • The results are very significant for my personal use, I have already been actively using the feeder • I have learned a lot regarding the PLC that I purchased as far as programming and capabilities.
FUTURE WORK • Redesign the exit ramp • Addition of water refill • Make it less bulky, take up less space • Addition of a network video camera to be able to monitor • Food level indicator
REFERENCES • Newton, M. (2012). Internet-Enabled Cat Feeder-Mark 2. Retrieved on March, 2012, from http://www.newtonnet.co.uk/catfeeder/ • Top ten wonders of the home automation world. Mac|Life.com 30-31. Retrieved Mar. 2010, from Top ten wonders of the home automation world. Mac|Life.com 30-31. Retrieved Mar. 2010, from http://www.maclife-digital.com/maclife/201003/?pg=33#pg33. • Triangle Research Int'l Inc. (2010, Nov.). In Nano-10 User Manual. Retrieved Mar. Day, 2011, from http://www.tri-plc.com/documents/Nano-10-UserManual.pdf
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS • I would like to acknowledge my father Mike Skeene and my brother Shawn Skeene with all the help in the physical construction of the feeder. Thanks for watching Email: carl_skeene@mymail.eku.edu