Multifunctional Wilderness Distress Device

*The best choice for young explorers in the new age 

Do you want to stand out? Do you want to be the center of attention at class reunions? Do you want to enjoy the envy of your friends and other campers during group camping trips? The Multifunctional Wilderness Distress Device is the right choice for you! Not only does it meet these social needs, but also adds a layer of safety to your wilderness adventures. 

The Multifunctional Wilderness Distress Device is a powerful three-in-one device that combines the functions of a flashlight, alarm, and fan. It is also equipped with advanced automatic sensing capabilities to react to motion, light, and sound. It activates its LED upon detecting brightness, triggers the buzzer when sound exceeds a critical threshold, and activates the fan when motion is detected. To be environmentally friendly, we have boldly removed the need for batteries, so you do not have to worry about polluting the environment or dealing with charging issues! 

As another masterpiece from Dapper Device following the Automatic Detachable Parachute, the Multifunctional Wilderness Distress Device is also available at an extremely affordable price. It's not $998, not even $198, but for only $98, you can take it home! 

 Call 404-863-3506 to get yours now!*

Simple Product without any add-ons needed! 

1x Arduino Uno Controller Board 

1x PIR Motion Sensor  

1x Sound Sensor  

1x Fan DC Motor 

1x Fan attachment 

1x Photoresistor 

1x Passive Buzzer 

4x White LED bulb 

1x Resistor (1K Ω) 

1x NPN Transistor 

1x Miniature breadboard 

1x Breadboard 

Breadboard Jumper Wires 

Female-to-Male Dupont Wires 

Plywood Sheets 

*While we do not recommend users to consume or lick the Multifunctional Wilderness Distress Device, we still adhere to using simple materials and ensure that the product has no added substances or chemicals.*

*We encourage users to modify the code and layout themselves to achieve unique customized effects. This way, if their attempts result in damaging the product, they will have to purchase a new one. Nevertheless, we strive to make the wiring and code simple and easy to understand. We believe that achieving simplicity in design while still achieving the desired effect is a skill.*

Wiring Layout and Logic

Our system is composed of 3 different systems that are placed parallel in a circuit to achieve the *perfect* Multifunctional Wilderness Distress Device.

1. Motion
2. Sensor: PIR Sensor
3. Actuator: DC Motor (into Fan)
4. Sound
5. Sensor: Sound Sensor
6. Actuator: Passive Buzzer
7. Light
8. Sensor: Photoresistor
9. Actuator: LED bulbs

The circuit prototyping and general wiring layout was determined within TinkerCAD.

Coding

The code follows the same parallel system that the circuit wiring does.

You can refer and modify the attached Arduino IDE file in which contains the code.

The circuit contains a main breadboard and a mini breadboard as well. This separation was to allow for flexibility of placement within the frame/box of the machine.

Ensure the components and their wiring is connected to the corresponding input and output pins as designated in the code ~ the specific location of the pins can also be adjusted and modified alongside the code

To ensure the most compact and perfect fit box to contain our machine, we first prototyped our box with cardboard, a material that is economical and can be easily modified by hand.

We were able to determine the approximate dimensions of our machine once the prototype is complete.

From our prototype's dimensions, we prepared parts to be lasercut out of plywood.

We then assembled these parts together.

The sensitivity and delay had to be adjusted to ensure the most accurate detection. These settings can be adjusted by turning the yellow knobs of the PIR sensor component as shown in the image above. The left adjusts the delay of relaying an signal and the right adjusts the sensitivity which parallels with the range in which the sensor senses from. The delay and sensitivity is increased when the corresponding knob is turned clockwise and decreased when turned counter-clockwise

Due to the motor of the fan emitting sounds at a high frequency, it also activates the sound sensor.

This system was the most straightforward part of the whole machine - if the ambient light is low, the LEDs do not turn one, and if the ambient light is high, the LEDs turn on.

The decision was to place 4 LEDs instead of one to increase the amount of light the machine emits and make it more visible that light is being emitted.

The sound sensor had to have its sensitivity adjusted to the noise level in the environment it is set in. The component allowed for that by turning the screw on the potentiometer (the blue portion on the sound sensor). This process was long, due to the large range in which it can be adjusted and as well as our first sound sensor being faulty.

*The Special Upgrade --- MWDD infinity* 

*Our product has been consistently praised, much like the Automatic Detachable Parachute, with almost no users giving negative feedback after use (users who do not provide feedback within 30 minutes of purchase are automatically considered five-star reviews). However, we have heard some complaints that users must continuously input signals for the device to remain on. For this portion of users, we have specially designed a newer version of the Multifunctional Wilderness Distress Device - the Infinity! This device can be activated by its own output of motion, light, and sound. As for how to stop it? Just as its name suggests, it will never stop unless its power is turned off. For an additional payment of $58, you can get this special edition now!!!!! *

*Our Previous Achievements & Future Plans*

*The Automatic Detachable Parachute is our company's first breakthrough product, proving that the key to a product's coolness and uniqueness lies in its quality and price. The Automatic Detachable Parachute automatically releases its safety buckle and drops heavy objects when subjected to excessive impact force, minimizing damage during use. As for the user's safety, that is not within our consideration. 

Our plan for our next product is to create robotic mice, continuing our company's tradition of being amusing yet impractical, simple yet expensive. The robotic mouse will use ultrasonic waves to detect its surroundings and evade anything that approaches it. It can simulate the problem of rodents in many households without damaging the property or spreading diseases.

Let get back to our current and newest product: The Multifunctional Wilderness Distress Device!*

Throughout the excitement and fooling around with this project, we had some moments where we encountered road blocks and learned from them. As a two person group, we are proud to have done this (yet honestly exhausted and quite possibly burnout), and it was fun!

Here are our reflections on our useless machine:

Challenges & Resolutions

In this project of creating a useless machine, we encountered many difficulties and learned many new skills. During the assembly and programming process, we faced confusing issues and got unexpectedly interesting results. 

The first challenge we encountered was how to use unfamiliar input and output devices. This project involved many sensors and output devices that we had never encountered before, so we had to learn how to use them before incorporating them into the design. 

Translating TinkerCAD into our physical reality was also a challenge; directly copying from TinkerCAD would result in many problems. For example, initially, the fan motor would always short-circuit until we lowered the current from 5V to 3.3V for it to operate properly. TinkerCAD did not have the sound sensor component in its program. The sound sensor also didn't work initially in the physical environment and required continuous adjustment of sensitivity to respond to the surrounding environment. 

Some results, although it was not what we expected, turned out surprisingly fitting. For instance, there was a significant delay in the motion sensor's response, causing the fan to intermittently stop and start. The motor emitted high-frequency vibrations upon startup, inadvertently triggering the sound sensor and producing unnecessary noise. These instances of uselessness over uselessness reflected our theme, so we decided to keep them. 

Conclusion

In general, creating a useless machine is a novel experience. We no longer focus on how to make it work, but rather on how to combine functional components into a useless whole. Many interesting ideas must be abandoned due to their complexity and the difficulty of obtaining parts, not to mention that our two-person team is too small for such a comprehensive project. The Multifunctional Wilderness Distress Device achieves its useless purpose by using the same type of input and output signals. The output signal can even activate sensors in reverse, creating an endless loop. Although this project took us a lot of time, it has also brought us many rewards. We hope our humorous approach and useless design bring a smile to your face. That's all, goodbye! :) 

Thanks

- Kevin Mao and Katie Leung