We had something called PreFab a month back for which we were supposed to make a final project. At that time I thought about making the same project but because of time constraints I had to drop it. But for fab academy I have decided to try out making it.
Idea
The idea is to make a wifi/internet controlled power socket which can be plugged into any of the existing ones. So the devices connected to these can be remotely switched on and off. I am planning to use ESP8266 Wi-Fi Module for networking using WiFi and to have the controller as ATtiny 44/45/48 . The idea is at a very primitive stage but with the skills I gain in the coming weeks I am planning to complete the project.
My idea is to
- have the ESP just for accessing a WiFi
- use an external mmicrocontroller to control the device
Since week 1, the week when we pen downed the idea, we have learned a lot. We gained knowledge of almost all aspects of product development, from planning, designing, electronic production, mechanical design etc to its ownership and legal matters. The coming two weeks we will be indulged in applying all these to develope our project. You can see the plans, expected timeline here.
I started off with outlining the work and dividing it into small chunks. These are what i came up with
- Learn about ESP8266.
- Look how to control the ESP externally using a microcontroller, here Atmega 328P
- design the switch’s structure.
Ultimately I aim to have a socket which can be switched ON and OFF. You can see step by step project development in week 19 project development page. I made the relay board for switching AC in week 13.
Bill of materials
ESP8266-01 - Rs 209
Atmega 328P - Rs 145
LM2940 - Rs 24
AMS117 - Rs 4.20
Acrylic sheet - Rs 150
Miscellaneous - Rs 250
Total - Rs 783.20
License
The MIT License (MIT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Vishnu Easwaran E
Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of this software and associated documentation files (the “Software”), to deal in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:
The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software.
THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED “AS IS”, WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.
