Cat and Mouse
In a valiant effort to entertain a certain black cat, the author creates a weapon of mass distraction. In the process, you learn how to use servomotors, solenoids, RFID readers, and more with the Raspberry Pi.
Lead Image © sergey vasiliev, 123RF.com
In a valiant effort to entertain a certain black cat, the author creates a weapon of mass distraction. In the process, you learn how to use servomotors, solenoids, RFID readers, and more with the Raspberry Pi.
The cat toy launcher is one of the more whimsical projects to come out of SwitchDoc Labs [1]. It originated from a discussion surrounding a cat named Panther, who loves to bat fake furry mice around on the floor but is continually knocking them under the oven, refrigerator, or couch. Clearly, I needed to provide the cat with a greater ongoing supply of mice, especially when no one was around. Thus, MouseAir was born.
A block diagram (Figure 1) was developed in a pub during a wine-tasting adventure, and development started the next day. Although a number of new products have appeared for remote pet interaction, such as iCPooch [2], I have seen nothing like a Raspberry Pi-based WMD (weapon of mass distraction) for cats. The goal is to have the device detect the cat when it walks by and fire a toy mouse into the hallway.
As cat owners everywhere know, you have only about a 20 percent chance that your cat will like a new toy. I hope that by combining a new cat toy delivery system with a proven cat toy as ammunition, this probability can be dramatically improved. MouseAir clearly fills a need that should be addressed. At least the project provides a platform for learning how to deal with servomotors, DC motors, solenoids, and RFID readers.
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Pages: 6
Price $15.99
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