Are You Okay? Widget
Introduction
When Elizabeth and I got to talking about friends, neighbors, parents, and children we worry about, there was a theme: if we knew they were OK, it would be enough. The hard part is in not knowing if they came home last night or got up this morning. Elizabeth and I worked out what we wanted it to do on my embedded software podcast. We have the technology to alleviate such worries, such as the Are-You-OK? Widget. The Are-You-OK widget contains an Electric Imp, an accelerometer, and an RGB LED to connect to wireless networks to notify loved ones if you're ok or not.
If you put it in a stuffed animal, the person you care about can pat it every day. If they fail to do so, the Imp will tweet at you, send you email, and/or text your phone. Of course, you could put it on their refrigerator, so you’d know they were OK and eating.
This is definitely an advanced tutorial. I’ll show you how I put together the hardware and the software, but, if you haven’t tried Electric Imp before, this may not be the place to start.
Required Materials
The items you will need for this are:
I chose right angle connectors in the kit because it goes better into a box or stuffed animal. Your form factor may vary. I also really like jumper wires over soldering but, if you are more confident on the hardware side, I won’t stop you from soldering. If you are building a plush, you may want to locate the LED and accelerometer away from the main board and batteries.
You will also need this tools and supplies:
- 4x AA batteries
- Basic soldering tools -- a Soldering Iron and Solder
- Hot glue gun (OK, you don’t need one for this project but how can you live without it?)
Suggested Reading
- Electric Imp Hook-Up Guide
- MMA8452Q Accelerometer Hookup Guide
- How to Solder
- Battery Technologies
- I2C