Projects

DEVON BRAY


MK4 Digital Dashboard

A fully digital dashboard for a vintage automobile. Custom GUI on a 7in display, keypad locking and unlocking, push to start, integrated backup camera, cruise control among other features. All open-sourced. Completed on assignment during my residency at Hitchcock Management

Note that this write-up is still a work in progress.


CHAMP: Compliant Hook Arboreal Mobility Platform (Senior Thesis Project)

A tree climbing robot, completed for my MQP (Major Qualifying Project) at WPI.


BlinkBox

A test tool for addressable LED development


 PiPlanter 2

A grant-funded, Raspberry Pi powered plant growth automation platform.


UV Resin Curing Cabinet

A project I completed for my internship at MADE@MassChallenge. A cabinet that quickly cures photopolymer based 3D prints from an SLA 3D printer.


Sound Supervisor

Physical controls for the windows volume mixer.


@heywpi

A project that allows anyone to change the color of LEDs hanging in my dorm window at WPI using twitter.


Smart Speaker

 A boombox that is controlled by a user’s proximity to a IR distance sensor for hands free operation.


Code ToolBox

Code or schematics I use all the time, a reference for myself.


3D Prints

A repository of the one-off 3D printed projects that I’ve designed and printed.


Smart Shutter

A combination of an Bluetooth enabled microcontroller and an Android app that can be used to take photos on a DSLR using an Android phone remotely. Developed for MIT Media Lab


Self-hosting Email & WordPress Servers

Installation of A Home Email server, and a Migration of a WordPress blog to a new server.


4 Comments

  1. Hi there,

    First of all, thank you very much for posting all your projects, I will be sure to donate something so you can continue your great work.

    I’m also trying to build my own plant watering system extending it a bit with a floating switch in my water tank, so that I know when to fill it up 🙂

    I’m now playing with the MCP3008, and I’m running into a bit of a snag, which I think you can answer in a jiffy 😉

    I’m using your code and setup in your post: http://192.168.1.37/?p=442

    But I’m using my own build two nails setup as you have also made to measure the moisture in the soil.

    I cannot find a description of how you have connected the nails to the MCP3008, you only show the temperature and light sensor, but I measure my temperature in another way.

    What I have done is to connect the nail setup with one end to the MCP3008’s sensor pin 0, and the other to 3,3v from the Pi.

    And I am getting readings from the tiny Python script, but what’s strange is that the values fluctuates from 0 to 100… mostly 0, but it goes from 0 to 100 and back to 0 within about 4 secs.

    If i short the two nails it of cause stays at 100…

    But if I should be able to use this I would imagine it should be a stable value… like 0 when nothing is touching the two nails ?

    I have tested the nails, and they are not soldered short or anything like that 🙂

    I hope you can help me a bit on my way here ?

    Kind regards from Denmark

    /Heino

  2. Hi Devon

    Well, I now tried to add a 220K resistor between the input on the MCP3008 and the negative lead form the nail.
    Yet it still fluctuates up and down… tried to read from one of the other inputs on the MCP3008 with nothing connected, and basically get the same output… that is it fluctuates up and down…

    Looks a bit strange to me… maybe I’m missing something somewhere?

    /Heino

  3. Just to clearify… I modified the script to just read the mVolts, and to print it each 2 secs….
    Here is the output:
    root@plantpi:/home/pi/plantpi# python test.py
    Volt0: 0
    Volt0: 558
    Volt0: 590
    Volt0: 576
    Volt0: 574
    Volt0: 545
    Volt0: 104
    Volt0: 0
    Volt0: 0
    Volt0: 0
    Volt0: 202
    Volt0: 590
    Volt0: 564
    Volt0: 580
    ….

    …and that’s with no contact between the nails… verified with a multimeter…
    Even if I plug out the nail all together, it still returns something like this…
    If I short the nails, it does stay at the high mVoltages all the time…

    I tried to switch from 3.3V to 5V just to see if it made any difference.. it didn’t…

    strange stuff… 😉

    /Heino

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