For a change here's our favorite science fiction short story. It's about how technology had to do with the end of all creation and the beginning. Enjoy!
Sunday, August 21, 2016
Saturday, June 25, 2016
Attachable toilet sensor flusher: Follow up
Hello our loved subscribers, we're glad to see you again.
Today we will follow up on the motion activated toilet project which we started developing for toilet trained cats so the toilet may flush automatically when they go on it.
As you may remember the device was composed of an Arduino uno board, a servo motor, a PIR motion sensor and a string that would attach the servo motor to the toilet lever to pull it down.
After being tested for more than a year it was found to be inefficient for many reasons.
First the 6 minute wait was good for one cat, but since we have two cats it proved to not work for the second kitty, since cats are sometimes territorial animals, if the second cat would see or smell the first cat's excrement on the toilet they wouldn't use it and would poop on the bathroom floor instead.
Then we had the problem that the toilet kept flushing more than once due to two occurrences. First the cats would linger around the toilet for longer than they needed to after doing their needs thus making the toilet flush many times. Second whenever the cats visited the toilet just for kicks the toilet would flush.
Due to these inconveniences we revised the Arduino code many times, only to come to the conclusion that the PIR sensor was not the best choice for our project, so we did what we suspected from the very beginning and used an arduino ultrasonic sensor HC-SR04.
The base code was simple enough, it required a few changes to accommodate for the distance but we got it working.
Now the toilet only flushes when the cats get really near to the sensor and actually sit down eliminating the constantly flushing problem, and it only waits about 2 minutes to do so, thus solving the second kitty going on the bathroom floor.
Also we made some aesthetic improvements to the device so it looks much more appealing to the eye, but there is a lot more to work on concerning this aspect of the project. Also we modified the angle at which the servo motor attached to the toilet lever, so there is less pull on the servo motor and it can be attached to the toilet only with a double sided tape. Here are the pictures of the new model:
The picture on the left shows the servo motor attached to the lever. Right now it's attached by a string and some duct tape, but that will change in the future version of the project.
On the right picture you can see the Arduino encased in TBM's symbol of hope. It's a little wet but in the future it will be water proof. Also we added a resistor protected LED that turns on whenever the sensor is activated.
All in all we still have many challenges to face until the device is completed, including the toilet lever not fully coming back up once it is flushed due to old bad toilet design which you can see here:
The next prototypes would have:
- Improved aesthetics
- Add ons to allow for easy installation
- Possibility to change programming for old toilet or new toilets
- Possibility to modify for human use
- Possibility to get rid of cables that connect sensor to Arduino
That's it for today everyone. We apologize for such a long entry and promise to make future ones shorter and more helpful!
If you like what you read and want to hire our personalized technology services contact us through any of these sites:
www.usatbm.com
Facebook
IG
Twitter
Thank you so much for reading! There is nothing that make us happier than your time and your comments :)
Innovating technology, creating hope
Today we will follow up on the motion activated toilet project which we started developing for toilet trained cats so the toilet may flush automatically when they go on it.
 |
As you may remember the device was composed of an Arduino uno board, a servo motor, a PIR motion sensor and a string that would attach the servo motor to the toilet lever to pull it down.
After being tested for more than a year it was found to be inefficient for many reasons.
First the 6 minute wait was good for one cat, but since we have two cats it proved to not work for the second kitty, since cats are sometimes territorial animals, if the second cat would see or smell the first cat's excrement on the toilet they wouldn't use it and would poop on the bathroom floor instead.
Then we had the problem that the toilet kept flushing more than once due to two occurrences. First the cats would linger around the toilet for longer than they needed to after doing their needs thus making the toilet flush many times. Second whenever the cats visited the toilet just for kicks the toilet would flush.
Due to these inconveniences we revised the Arduino code many times, only to come to the conclusion that the PIR sensor was not the best choice for our project, so we did what we suspected from the very beginning and used an arduino ultrasonic sensor HC-SR04.
The base code was simple enough, it required a few changes to accommodate for the distance but we got it working.
Now the toilet only flushes when the cats get really near to the sensor and actually sit down eliminating the constantly flushing problem, and it only waits about 2 minutes to do so, thus solving the second kitty going on the bathroom floor.
Also we made some aesthetic improvements to the device so it looks much more appealing to the eye, but there is a lot more to work on concerning this aspect of the project. Also we modified the angle at which the servo motor attached to the toilet lever, so there is less pull on the servo motor and it can be attached to the toilet only with a double sided tape. Here are the pictures of the new model:
The picture on the left shows the servo motor attached to the lever. Right now it's attached by a string and some duct tape, but that will change in the future version of the project.
On the right picture you can see the Arduino encased in TBM's symbol of hope. It's a little wet but in the future it will be water proof. Also we added a resistor protected LED that turns on whenever the sensor is activated.
All in all we still have many challenges to face until the device is completed, including the toilet lever not fully coming back up once it is flushed due to old bad toilet design which you can see here:
The next prototypes would have:
- Improved aesthetics
- Add ons to allow for easy installation
- Possibility to change programming for old toilet or new toilets
- Possibility to modify for human use
- Possibility to get rid of cables that connect sensor to Arduino
That's it for today everyone. We apologize for such a long entry and promise to make future ones shorter and more helpful!
If you like what you read and want to hire our personalized technology services contact us through any of these sites:
www.usatbm.com
IG
Thank you so much for reading! There is nothing that make us happier than your time and your comments :)
Innovating technology, creating hope
Thursday, May 12, 2016
A message of intent
I've stopped posting for a while because I am currently hitting a rough patch.
The people that could support us the most think that the projects we make are a joke and that we should stop wasting our time doing things that will have no impact on the world and that we can never sell. They don't even believe this company is a company because we've haven't sold anything and don't have much revenue, saying that teaching people about technology and fixing phones and computers is nothing especial. They try to put doubts in our mind, with words such as, you will pay more for taxes than it's worth if you open the company without earning at least $20 k of revenue first, you should stop wasting your time fixing things and get a real job, but this already exist so what's the use of you working on it? They think that TBM will never flourish and that it's just a far fetched dream that I thought of and decided to pursue out of a whim.
But they are wrong.
I am well aware that my projects so far aren't completely new and that perhaps I can never sell or patent any of them yet, but all the knowledge I'm acquiring and all the effort I'm putting into teaching myself how to make products and how to have an idea and make it a reality is going to pay off in the end. In fact it already pays off. And in my opinion teaching and fixing technology is the way to learn how to improve it and innovative it. In fact most new technology is just old technology that has been improved already! The fact that I have done all of our projects and many more by myself, without any previous knowledge on how to program Arduinos, fix drones, or create complicated circuits is proof enough that I can achieve anything I set my mind into and is the revenue that paves the way to actual physical revenue in the future. And I am not alone. TBM is a group of people that have extensive skills and experience in the fields of science, technology, bio-medicine, research, development, marketing, design, publicity, drawing, photography, and much more!
I have my mind set on developing technology and becoming an inventor. And I know TBM is the way to achieve this dream, because once we all take off TBM will be our rocket to keep rising to unknown heights.
If you're like me and always wondered things like hmm why don't these products have this in them so they're more efficient? Or why didn't the designers design this this way so it's easier to use? Then you are an inventor minded person already. It's up to you to answer those questions and see if you like the answer you are given. If not then you have the opportunity to make it happen.
The reason we are still in a forming phase is that right now TBM doesn't have any kind of financial help to develop anything. Everything you see here is out of my own time and money, and because of that lack of money I haven't been able to invent the things I actually want to, but I know someday I'll earn the opportunity to be funded, meet the right people that will support us financially and give us the opportunity to create something wonderful and then TBM will become one of the leading technology creation and development companies in the world that will use its innovations so everyone in the world can have a better life, not just the rich.
Until then never give up on your dreams!
People will always be against you achieving your dreams. Be it because they are jealous, because they realize the potential you have and are scared that you might grow too big from them to reach, or because they feel inferior to you already. Don't matter, you can still succeed and then show them love, so they know you didn't pursue those dreams for yourself, but to help everyone in the world, including those that made your path to reach those goals difficult.
The important thing is that TBM will not let any of those people stop us. Maybe we don't have a clear path yet, maybe we don't know exactly what do develop or invent yet, or how to get funding for it. But the dream of impacting the world through affordable and good hearted technology continues to grow and to live on. And little by little we're striving to reach this dream.
I see the technology around be and I ask myself, what's the use of a $1000 drone if it's not used for purposes that actually help those who need it the most? Someone else also thought of this and now drones are used in third world countries to deliver medicine to poor people. Or what's the use of a prostheses that a child without an arm can't afford? And the open hardware movement allowed companies to construct prostheses they can sell at low cost or even donate to children or adults all over the world. That's why TBM will not only make technology such as a drone unless it's needed to help the world by delivering medicine or curing a forest of a deadly disease for example, or find ways to create opportunities for children with disadvantages to design, develop and build their own prosthetic.
Our aim is to help others with our technology in such a way that they feel inspired to learn, to create, to help themselves and the world.
This blog is meant to inform you of TBM's wonderful creations and show you our progress. If you don't believe in fairy tales stories such as a first generation middle class Colombian man without anyone in the family to guide him into starting a technology company and becoming an inventor, such as me, then I pray you continue to read our updates, because this fairy tale will become a reality.
From now on I promise to publish as soon as I work on something new. And hopefully more creation and development enthusiast can join me and share their opinions and give advice or encouragement and we can start a community of sharing with and helping fellow developers and creators out there through this blog.
Thank you so much for reading this long entry. Good bless you all.
Andrés Medellín, founder and CEO of TBM.
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