I was just looking at some coffee pots at work thinking "It would be nice to know how old the coffee is."
And then I went into problem solving mode. Practicality be damned! I went through a few ideas, and came up with what I think is most feasible.
What I envision is a very simple "good/bad" indicator light for the coffee pot. It is based on the temperature of the coffee (or other liquid) in the pot. If the temperature falls below a certain level, the indicator goes from "good" to "bad"
Obviously, you would need to find a good point where good coffee goes bad. You can do this manually or automatically. For example, take the temperature of a coffee pot after sitting for 4 hours and after some general use.
The amount of coffee left would affect the temperature, so you could take temperatures with a full pot, 3/4 full pot, 1/2 full pot, and 1/4 full pot. If the pot is below an acceptable level, you could make it automatically trip the indicator.
You could rig a data logger to note the temperature and liquid level over time to help with the calibration.
I do love brainstorming solutions to a problem. The exercise is good, even if it doesn't produce useful results.
Feel free to add comments and discussion! I welcome feedback of all kinds, as long as it's civil :-)
2011-08-17
2011-03-30
RANDOM: Quick observations regarding humans
I just wanted to share a couple of random observations around humans and their behavior.
First, I noted that you gain respect for how something is built if you attempt to build it yourself.
For example, I am always thinking about how to artificially reproduce human senses such as sight, and after I try to figure out how to process images instantly over and over and provide a comprehensive picture than can be parsed for information, I am in awe of the processing power of just our sense of vision.
Second, I observed that to truly reproduce instinctual behavior, one needs to employ the fight or flight tendency, along with some memory.
For example, think of an animal you are trying to befriend, such as a stray cat. At first, they immediately run from you, because you are an unknown quantity and much bigger than them (flight). Then after observing you a few times and noting there doesn't seem to be an immediate danger, they investigate to see if there is a latent danger, and if so, they run away (flight again).
There's a lot more to the theory on this second point, but it was an observation I wanted to share.
First, I noted that you gain respect for how something is built if you attempt to build it yourself.
For example, I am always thinking about how to artificially reproduce human senses such as sight, and after I try to figure out how to process images instantly over and over and provide a comprehensive picture than can be parsed for information, I am in awe of the processing power of just our sense of vision.
Second, I observed that to truly reproduce instinctual behavior, one needs to employ the fight or flight tendency, along with some memory.
For example, think of an animal you are trying to befriend, such as a stray cat. At first, they immediately run from you, because you are an unknown quantity and much bigger than them (flight). Then after observing you a few times and noting there doesn't seem to be an immediate danger, they investigate to see if there is a latent danger, and if so, they run away (flight again).
There's a lot more to the theory on this second point, but it was an observation I wanted to share.
2011-03-28
EDUCATION: Calculating battery life
Just a quick note on battery life.
When putting together a circuit where you need to know how long it will run on a battery, you need to know how many amps the circuit draws. Once you have that, you need to know how many amp-hours a battery is rated for.
For example, if your circuit draws 1 amp of power and you have a battery that is rated for 1 amp-hour, that battery will run the circuit for about one hour.
Wikipedia has a list of batteries and their typical amp-hour ratings at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_battery_sizes
What I found surprising was that a typical 9-volt battery is rated for 565 mA/hr (milliamps, not amps), while a typical alkaline AA battery is rated for 2.7 A/hr.
However, a word of caution: circuits also require VOLTS. Therefore, if your circuit pulls 270 mA/hr but requires 3 volts, you will still need two AA batteries, as each battery is roughly 1.5 volts.
At this point, I am assuming batteries in series have the same A/hr rating, but that's a wild guess at this point
When putting together a circuit where you need to know how long it will run on a battery, you need to know how many amps the circuit draws. Once you have that, you need to know how many amp-hours a battery is rated for.
For example, if your circuit draws 1 amp of power and you have a battery that is rated for 1 amp-hour, that battery will run the circuit for about one hour.
Wikipedia has a list of batteries and their typical amp-hour ratings at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_battery_sizes
What I found surprising was that a typical 9-volt battery is rated for 565 mA/hr (milliamps, not amps), while a typical alkaline AA battery is rated for 2.7 A/hr.
However, a word of caution: circuits also require VOLTS. Therefore, if your circuit pulls 270 mA/hr but requires 3 volts, you will still need two AA batteries, as each battery is roughly 1.5 volts.
At this point, I am assuming batteries in series have the same A/hr rating, but that's a wild guess at this point
OSCAR: Delayed
Brief note: I was not able to complete the Oscar project by Dorkbot on March 11. I did not set aside enough time to work on the project, especially given the compact timeline and my inexperience with microelectronics. I hope to have more on this soon.
2011-03-08
OSCAR: The Announcement
I've decided I will at least take a shot at building a robot for Dorkbot 28 which is being held at Austin Music Hall in Austin on March 11. I will be building a robot codenamed "Oscar" to show off and get feedback on.
I plan on documenting various pieces of the build on this blog, so stay tuned for interesting stuff!
I plan on documenting various pieces of the build on this blog, so stay tuned for interesting stuff!
2010-03-29
RANDOM: How Progress Happens
Random train of thought as I was driving in to work today.
I've said before that I think profit is the enemy of innovation. Companies invent, but want to hog all the profit for themselves, so they apply for patents and copyrights, preventing other people from copying and possibly improving on their product.
However, I took that thinking a step further. If you want to invent and innovate, you need funding. Where do you get that funding?
Off the top of my head, there are three possibilities:
- Donations
- Profit from unrelated product(s)
- Profit from previous innovation
So it looks like profit is a necessary evil when it comes to innovation.
I've said before that I think profit is the enemy of innovation. Companies invent, but want to hog all the profit for themselves, so they apply for patents and copyrights, preventing other people from copying and possibly improving on their product.
However, I took that thinking a step further. If you want to invent and innovate, you need funding. Where do you get that funding?
Off the top of my head, there are three possibilities:
- Donations
- Profit from unrelated product(s)
- Profit from previous innovation
So it looks like profit is a necessary evil when it comes to innovation.
2010-03-22
IDEA: Sample Store
One thing that irks me about grocery shopping is the temptation to try something new. To do so, you usually need to buy a lot of the product, as that's the smallest size it comes in, and if it's not to your liking, are you going to return it?
Additionally, I sometimes want to compare flavors or varieties of products side-by-side to see which one I prefer more. However, the only available option is usually to buy a box of each flavor and take your changes.
Hence, the Sample Store. A store that encompasses both of these ideas in mind. It allows for samples of anything requested, and allows for side-by-side comparison.
Now, funding for such a venture may not be simple. More popular items could be cost-effective in that you buy a pack and quickly go through it in the course of sampling. However, some new and/or exotic products would likely be negative ROI, so those would need to be specially ordered, likely at a premium cost.
Then there's how to charge the customers.
A quick thought on this branch of thinking. It might be worth it just to have a bank of snack machines with individual packages of more popular products for people to sample as they wish.
Other ideas for funding this kind of venture are beyond my knowledge and experience, but the main goal would be to make the experience less painful than having to buy a large amount of food that you end up not eating due to a difference of opinion on taste
Additionally, I sometimes want to compare flavors or varieties of products side-by-side to see which one I prefer more. However, the only available option is usually to buy a box of each flavor and take your changes.
Hence, the Sample Store. A store that encompasses both of these ideas in mind. It allows for samples of anything requested, and allows for side-by-side comparison.
Now, funding for such a venture may not be simple. More popular items could be cost-effective in that you buy a pack and quickly go through it in the course of sampling. However, some new and/or exotic products would likely be negative ROI, so those would need to be specially ordered, likely at a premium cost.
Then there's how to charge the customers.
A quick thought on this branch of thinking. It might be worth it just to have a bank of snack machines with individual packages of more popular products for people to sample as they wish.
Other ideas for funding this kind of venture are beyond my knowledge and experience, but the main goal would be to make the experience less painful than having to buy a large amount of food that you end up not eating due to a difference of opinion on taste
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