May 25, 2019 by 8 Bits and a Byte
An internet controlled and tracked zombie hamster!
Below a quick overview of the content.
Our hamster Harold has passed away, and we miss him very much. Instead of getting a new hamster, we've decided to build one, but this time he will be controlled and tracked by the internet!
TL;DR
You can control him here on LetsRobot, and you can find the live data here on Thingspeak.
Unlike Frankenstein, our little monster should smell pleasant, and only spread a small amount of fear. To achieve this, we will use his original hamster wheel, powering it with a stepper motor, making it look like he is still happily running along.
The hamster wheel is very smooth, so attaching a bit of toothed belt makes sure our second belt will have enough grip.
This setup works, but the belt can slide to the side, so gluing some 'railings' next to the first belt helps.
With the wheel ready, we can secure it to the cage flooring, placing the stepper motor right next to it, and finally running the driving belt around both.
Wiring the stepper motor, attaching the motor hat and running the example code brings our creation to life!
Undead hamster running in his wheel, check! Let's move on the the internet controlled bit. We're not going to reinvent the hamster wheel, so here's a neat guide on setting up a Pi Camera, and connecting everything to Let's Robot, the internet controlled robot platform.
Next step, tracking how far our less-than-living pet runs. This setup is very much based on our previous project: An IoT Hamsterwheel made using a Raspberry Pi and a magnetic door sensor.
Let's find out! The controls are right here.
We’re Dane and Nicole, two makers that create tremendously terrible tech, which we happily share with you on our channel!
