Iron Man Potentiometer Controlled Toy by Liam Luther and Franco
by PHS_Engineering in Circuits > Arduino
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Iron Man Potentiometer Controlled Toy by Liam Luther and Franco
We created a modified Iron Man toy that’s lights are activated when the reading from a potentiometer we connected with it is over a certain value. The process that we used could also be applied to many other toys as well as household items that have some sort of on/off switch.
Supplies
- Arduino Uno
- Captain America Toy with candy dispenser
- Wires
- Breadboard
- 5V Relay
- Aligator Clips
- Potentiometer
- Screwdriver
- Wire Stripper
- Cardboard Box
Open Iron Man
We removed all of the screws from the body of the Iron man toy and took the pieces apart, starting with the head and chest and moving down the body. The yellow cylinder on the bottom of the body was discarded, because its only purpose was to hold candy, and we didn't need it.
Wire the Relay
We wired the relay based on the diagram shown above. We didn’t incorporate the potentiometer yet, we just wanted to see if we could get the relay working. This relay wiring could be used for almost any project as the diagram that we followed was a very general template.
Connect the Potentiometer
We used this diagram to wire up a potentiometer to the Arduino. The diagram that we used was a very general template that can be used for any project involving a potentiometer. As far as the circuits go, all we did was take two basic Arduino tools and use them together. Attached is a photo of the completed circuit, including the potentiometer and relay.
Attach Alligator Clips to the Toy, and to the Uno
We connected the red and black alligator clips to the wires on the arduino and the toy shown above. On the toy, we had to use a wire stripper to remove a short section of the white wires in order to make space to clip on the alligator clips. We had some trouble when the alligator clips began to touch each other or to push the button on the toy, but after designing the box and changing up the wires we found the solution.
Write the Code
We then wrote out the code for the program, pasted below.
int potPin = A0; // The potentiometer is connected to pin A0
int Relay = 13; // The relay is connected to pin 13
void setup() {
Serial.begin(9600); // This command sets up the serial monitor at 9600 baud
pinMode(potPin,INPUT); // The potentiometer is defined as an input, so the arduino is taking in its readings
pinMode(Relay, OUTPUT); // The relay is defined as an output, so the arduino is sending commands to it
}
void loop() {
int potData=analogRead(potPin); // The variable potData is defined as the value of the reading from the potentiometer
Serial.println (potData); // This command prints the value of potData to the serial monitor
delay (25); // This command sets a delay of 25 milliseconds
Serial.begin (9600); // This command sets the monitor to 9600 baud
if(potData > 500){ // This 'if' statement asks if the potentiometer value is greater than 500
digitalWrite (Relay, HIGH); //if the potentiometer value is over 500, this command turns on the relay
delay(25); // 25 millisecond delay
digitalWrite (Relay, LOW); //this command turns off the relay
delay(2000); // 2 second delay
}
else{
digitalWrite(Relay,LOW); // if the potentiometer value is equal to or under 500, this command keeps the relay off
}
}
Make the Box
Finally, with all of the wiring and coding complete, we used the screwdriver to poke one hole in the side of a cardboard box to feed the wires through. Then, we placed the toy in the box, but left the breadboard outside. We then positioned the arms of the toy so that they were sticking out of the box, and drew a dog face to make it seem as though the dog was eating the toy. We also used a small amount of tape on the arms to make sure they stayed upright.