DYF: Don't You Forget Your Items When You Leave the House

I have a bad habit where I tend to forget to leave the house without my keys, wallet, phone, MASK (we've all been there), or water. We always tend to forget something and then realize we forgot that something when we're like 15 minutes away from the house. Which leads me to my idea...

My idea was having some sort of device that would remind you to bring your choosing items before you leave the house. I talked with my dad into how to get into this good habit of using this device, so on the device would be a lever/ hook that allows you to hang your choosing item you cannot leave home without (e.g. car/home keys). Once the item is lifted from the hook, the device will start playing audio that begins listing the items you need before leaving the house. And bam, you don't need to worry about leaving anything at the house!

• Arduino Uno R3
• breadboard
• tilt sensor
• 3 male-female wires
• 3 only male wires
• 9 volt battery
• 9 volt battery clip plug
• Cylewet ISD1820 Sound Voice Audio Mic *found on amazon
• Speaker (your choosing but I did CQRobot Speaker) *found on amazon
• wooden box structure
• scrap wood
• jig saw (or any saw)
• solder
• one hammer nail
• hole saw
• drill bits
• cardboard piece
• hot glue gun
• tape
• your little forgetful brain ;)

I know this is a lot but it will all make sense

I'll provide you the code. It isn't my own code. I found it on google. I know it isn't "correct the way to do it" but it actually works, so thumbs up! I was only using the application of its setup for it to work, not it's actual function.

// Superb Tech - LED Button Tutorial - Toggle
// www.youtube.com/superbtech

int button = 2;

int led = 13;

int status = false;

void setup(){

pinMode(led, OUTPUT);

pinMode(button, INPUT_PULLUP); }

void loop(){

if (digitalRead(button) == true) {

status = !status;

digitalWrite(led, status);

} while(digitalRead(button) == true);

delay(50);

}

For this step, you'll need your Arduino, bread board, wires, tilt sensor, speaker, 9V battery, and 9V battery clip plug. To put everything together, follow the image shown above. I also added steps in the image and down below if you get confused.

Key (same as the image):

2 → breadboard; tilt sensor

tilt sensor → negative row

negative row → Arduino GND

negative row → ISD1820 GND

13 → ISD1820 P-E

3.3 V → ISD1820 VCC

ISD1820 SPI → speaker

9V battery → Arduino

Notice:

• Some of the wires are male and female tips while others are just male tips.
• The two wires connecting to the tilt sensor are NOT on the same column.
• When connecting the wires from the recorder to the speaker, make sure it's positive to positive and negative to negative. I recommend you test the speaker out before committing to anything permanent.
• Not everything on breadboard has to be where they exactly are, just make sure the wires on the negative row remain on the negative and the wires connecting to the tilt sensor stay on the same column.
• Do the battery LAST because you don't want to burn something out or damage the wires/Arduino.

It doesn't matter what outer structure you use. It's entirely up to you. You can use a box, a vase, a pot, or even a blender. Go crazy.

However, when choosing your outer structure, make a 1 by 1 scale 2D layout on paper to give you and idea where everything goes. It will show you whether you'll come across small setbacks, whether items can be stacked, whether you need a different approach, etc.

Once you get and idea of where each component goes, then you can move on.

Tip:

• make sure you have some room to set aside your hook on the breadboard; don't clutter you stuff around the breadboard
• make sure you have an area where maybe you can cut a hole for the speaker; otherwise, your audio will be muffled

You'll need that extra scrap piece of wood and your jig saw. Grab a sticky note and get brainstorming what your hook could look like.

As shown in the photo, the hook needs to have more volume in the back than the front. In the back, make a round edge because it will help distribute the weight of you item and prevent it from breaking. When you are happy with you hook and everything that is not needed is cut off, you can then move onto making a pivot point. DO NOT make your pivot point after you are NOT done cutting. It will mess up the weight distribution.

For the pivot point, you want the back end of the hook to be slightly lower than the front when it's being balanced because you want the hook really hit the bread board hard when you take the item off the hook. Practice lightly pinching a spot on your piece of wood to see if it's a good pivot point. When you are certain, drill a hole that is slightly bigger than your axle you'll be using. I used a thin drill bit as my axle. I had a spare. You can also use a paperclip, a needle or a toothpick as your axle.

Then, cut a little V at the front of the hook. You can sand it off or simply cut it off. This will be the spot to hand your item.

I would do this after you have everything organized and sorted. You don't want to commit to anything until you are ready. When you are, make sure you have you soldering tools at the ready.

Before soldering, make sure your positive wire is with your positive side of the speaker as well as your negative wire is with you negative side of the speaker. You can check this by holding the wires with your thumb on the speaker and testing whether the speaker goes off. Once you are completely confident where each wire goes, then you can go ahead a solder.

Find anywhere on your structure to cut a hole. Make sure your Arduino and wiring are out of the structure so you don't accidentally damage them. The size of the hole is to your liking. You can use a hole saw to make one big hole as shown in the image or use a drill bit to make multiple small holes.

We want our little audio to have some personality. Use a robot voice like JARVIS, a Disney character, or an accent.

For DYF, I used a British accent to match a JARVIS personality. I know it's the worst British accent in the world haha

When testing it, it might not work the first time. Arduino and wiring can be confusing.

Double Check:

• the wiring; everything is in the correct spot; maybe try copying the image in previous step then experiment
• the battery is fully operational and not dead
• the code is functional and uploaded
• the tilt sensor and wiring are in the right columns
• the positive is with positive and negative is with negative
• all the wires are completely plugged in and not hanging around

If you've double checked everything and it's still not working, step away for the whole project. Watch a movie, eat something, walk around the area, give some affection to you pet, etc. Just take a break. Then, come back refreshed.

Or...redo the entire project. Sometimes the best solution is re-starting it. Don't be afraid and relax.

Once everything is working, use your hot glue gun to either glue everything in place or create little slots to it's not entirely glue by stuck. I would recommend that you glue your Arduino, bread board and recorder to a piece of carboard. At most three little dots of glue. Then, glue the entire bottom piece of the cardboard to you structure. The reason for this is maybe you want to re-use your Arduino, breadboard or recorder for another project and in this project, your components can be removed nicely.

Next, use any tape you got (nothing expensive) and tape the wires together or against any surfaces. It will help stay neat and organized. Trust me, it helps.

Build a bond with it. Make it your JARVIS. Get creative and have fun. Do something original.

I named my DYF: Don't You Forget ... .

Do something like that. Just don't name it DYF. Make it your own.

How many times did you punch that wall? Arduino and wiring and balance and everything can be a little frustrating but the results are worth it. Thanks for reading my Instructable. I would love to hear your name for your DYF.