FINAL PROJECT PLANNING

I have various ideas in my mind for the final project such as, Reverse Vending Machine, Chai Maker, Smart-Watch for Anxiety Patients and Portable Solar Fan or Fan Cap.However, for now I have decided to narrow down my research on Reverse Vending Machine as I feel this project has alot of scope in the future as the world is progressing to become more sustainable and therefore, focusing on recycling processes. I also think it would be alot of fun to work on. Though, I would like to admit that for now, I have very limited Electronic Engineering skills and do not feel confident enough to fulfill this idea but I am still excited and hopeful!

PROJECT IDEA CHANGE

I have decided to discard my previous idea which was a Reverse Vending machine as I have been researching about the recycling processes and I feel that its a long and complicated process and though such vending machines can help eradicate the extra effort of sorting out materials, the waste still has a long way to go before it can be recycled i.e., the bottles need to be washed, the sticker sheet needs to be removed, the bottle has to be compressed and then shredded, etc. Therefore, I have decided on a new idea for my final project. Also because I feel my reasoning for the project was too shallow earlier and I donot feel very passionate about it actually which is very important to me.

NEW PROJECT IDEA

My new idea is a simple task manager/proud bot (yet to come up with a name =p). This idea is inspired by/altered version of this Proud Parent Machine by the queen of fun engineering projects, Simone Giertz.
Her machine uses a coin acceptor system to play the audio and move the hand but I have decided to do that on tasks completion. Basically, there would be a to-do list template on the front with panels that can be slided out to write down tasks. Behind those panels would be a photoresistor, which when covered would keep the system static but when exposed to light- would move the servo and play the audio. The photoresistor idea is inspired by this Arduino To-do List project I found during my research.
The slidable panels would be double sided- one side would be for writing tasks and the other side would be decorated to blend in with the rest of the body. So after the person is done with the task, they can take out the panel which will move the hand and play the audio and insert is back with the other side on front which will move the hand back to the initial position.
A super rough planning of the project can be seen below:

THOUGHT PROCESS UPDATE: I have another idea as well for the flow, instead of playing the hand + audio sequence for every single task I am thinking of just playing it once, after all the tasks for the day are done. One way I have in mind to do this is- maybe to have LEDs that turn on after every task completion and when all of them are ON, the hand + audio sequence plays and resets the entire system for a new day. Also along with a to do list template, I also wish to have a daily routine tasks tracker template as well!