Design and Development Process:

The major consideration of our design and development process centered around the goal of collecting and transmitting the information that a person is seated at their dining room table. Initially we focused on using Both a an FSR sensor as well as a pressure plate switch integrated into the cushion of a dining room chair to register that the user is seated to trigger the partners candle. We determined that wiring from the candle to the chair would impede both the aesthetics and functionality of this design choice, and that all chairs at a dining room table would need to be outfitted with these cushions, if the user did not regularly sit in the same chair. 

We settled on using an IR distance sensor for two reason, Firstly, it would allow for the integration of the sensing mechanism directly into the candle, which would remove the needs for wires between the candle in the chair. Secondly, a user would be able to sit in any chair at their table, and just turn the candle to the direction of where they were siting. They could also move the candle to different environments in the house, such as a coffee table, or a bar table, where on might also have dinner. This led to the process of constructing of a housing for the sensor that would be integrated into the bottom of the candle. 

Bill of Materials:

1. Breadboard (generic) x 2
2. Particle Photon x 2
3. IR Distance Sensor x 2
4. Neopixel x2
5. Jumper Wires x 16