Animating small household appliances using solid-state relays
Objective: Work with sounds emitted from electronic devices found around the home. Explore the effect these incidental sounds have on one’s surroundings. Develop a greater sensitivity to the acoustic nature of individual household appliances. Consider sound combinations when devices are operating together as an “ensemble.”
Motivation: The domestic environment becomes an active, living entity when tasks are automated by domestic appliances. New technological developments have given us the potential to develop digitally augmented objects and environments; i.e. “smart home technologies” and “smart kitchens.” With smart technology comes wireless communication, and further automation in effort to make our daily tasks more ‘efficient.’
What does it mean to have smart appliances?
What is their impact on the home?
How does this change the way we look at the tools we use in various aspects of domestic life?
Method: A relay allows the Arduino controller to manage higher power circuits easily. By using a relay paired with each appliance, individual pins may be switched to on (HIGH) or off (LOW), thereby controlling the power of each device. Different on/off patterns (in the code) allow the control of individual household appliances, thus creating the “domestic ensemble”
schematic