My roommate loves to snack. He literally opens the fridge 20 times a day and forgets to close the fridge door 20 times a day. 'Snack Preventer' is an IoT device that reminds you to close the fridge door via a visual cue (LED) and a sound. The device also sends you an alert message reminding you of the number of times you snacked today. After getting an alert message my roommate will become more conscious about his snacking habit and then hopefully he will make an effort to curb it.
Since this was the first IoT device prototype I was making on my own, I decided to research on the components required to make the prototype. After researching on the major components: PIR motion detection sensor and a piezo sound generator, I found out other projects which used the same components on their devices. From the precedent projects, I learn't how the code worked for each of these components. I changed the code so that the PIR sensor notices the fridge door opening up causing the LED to light up. If the door is opened 5 times (count = 10, since one motion is for open and one for close) the device will play a melody and send an SMS to alert my roommate. SMS capability was added using IFTTT and a single line of code - Particle.publish()
This project showed me a glimpse into the world of IoT. I thought of a product idea, prototyped it and conducted a usability test all in a week's time. Particle Photon has truly made it easy to rapidly prototype your ideas and connect them to the internet.