Remote Controlled Curtain Opener

• 

  Arduino and IR Sensor

• 

  Stepper Motor and Stepper Motor Module

Inspiration

I was searching for a way to easily open and close the curtains in my apartment, so I can easily let the light in for my plants while also being able to close them when I need privacy, without having to get up and walk over to them each time.

What it does

The Remote Controlled Curtain Opener does... just that! You can control how opened/closed your curtains are, simply pushing buttons 0-9 on the remote to adjust to your likeness.

How we built it

The RCCO is built using an IR remote and sensor and a stepper motor hooked up to an Arduino. When an input is sensed from the remote, the Arduino determines how much and which direction the motor should rotate to adjust accordingly. The code for the Arduino is in C++.

Challenges we ran into

Ensuring all the physical connections were correct and working proved difficult, and took some troubleshooting to make sure the hardware was performing properly. Also, the speed of the motor was quite slow, and attachments will be needed to make the raising/lowering more efficient.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Learning how to set up and receive inputs from the IR sensor.

What we learned

How stepper motors work and the difference and usages of different types of motors.

What's next for Remote Controlled Curtain Opener

Adding attachments to the motor to make the raising/lowering mechanism faster, as well as adding functionality to set up times for the curtains to open and close without using the remote.

Built With

• arduino
• c++