Potato Security System

Inspiration

We thought that space potatoes, and potatoes in general are so valuable. Anything that is valuable requires protection and security measures to ensure the safety of the valuable thing. Therefore, we felt the need to develop a security system for protecting the sacred potatoes.

What it does

The farmer or the potato owner enters a password to remember. After he/she has done that, the pound key is pressed. The owner has 30 seconds to leave the room. After that, the security system activates. When someone enters the room where the potatoes are stored, the alarm sounds and keeps sounding until the code is entered correctly.

How we built it

The system is built using a Arduino like circuit board as the brains of our system. The system uses an ultrasonic sensor to sense the movement around the room. If the sensor notices any changes, the buzzer will sound. They code is typed into a keypad attached to the board.

Challenges we ran into

For a while, the serial monitor would not open, which inhibited our ability to see the different values the sensors were giving us. The computer had to be switched, and the software and code had to be downloaded to the new computer. Then, we tried to use a generic motion sensor to sense the motion, but the sensitivity was not strong enough for an application. The sensor had to be switched out for the ultrasonic sensor.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We're proud for making such a device in less than a day!

What we learned

Reading through documentation is very helpful. Failures also give way for new solutions. This was more fun than we could have ever thought.

What's next for Potato Security System

It would be nice to have an actual box to put our security system in. Right now, an intruder could just rip wires off the device to shut off the annoying alarm, so having a box would encase all the sensitive components so the alarm can still badger the intruder and alert others. Also, our buzzer is not loud enough for other neighbors to hear so adding an alarm that is audible enough for others to hear helps.

Built With

• c++