Project
# | Title | Team Members | TA | Documents | Sponsor |
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46 | Cat Selective Automated Food Dispenser |
Advika Battini Ali Yaqoob Vibhu Vanjari |
Yuchen He TA | design_document0.pdf final_paper0.pdf presentation0.pptx proposal0.pdf |
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Problem: People with two or more cats often have one cat eating way too much food leaving the other pet starved. The chubby cat tends to eat all the food before the other one gets to it. It is also tedious to control how much food each cat gets. Solution and features: We aim to solve these problems by designing an automated system which controls how much food is given to each cat. The system stops the cats from eating each others food and controls how much food and at what time the cats are being fed. Dispenser: A desired quantity (weight) for food can be entered. The dispenser, will have a flap door that opens/closes based on feedback from a weight sensor placed under the area/bowl the food is dispensed. Times the food is dispensed when a cat approaches can also be controlled to control when the cat eats. The food container will have IR sensors/LEDs to indicate to the person if the level of food. Cat Detector: Methods to detect which cat is approaching: RFID detection: most existing dispensers / gates use RFID concerned about IP Cat collar color detection: The part of the collar on the cats back will be distinctly colored and will be detected by a downward facing camera.The camera will take a picture as the cat approaches the device. A motion sensor can be used to activate the camera. A sliding door to close the access to the food bowl if the wrong cat tries to eat the food. All the above functionality can additionally be controlled by the owner of the cats using an attached screen. Power Considerations: The device will be powered through the wall socket and we will implement a voltage regulator to appropriately power our PCB. |