Unconventional Switch: Bar Notification

For our unconventional switch, we decided on a design that was both unique and practical. We wanted to answer the question of how to request service at a noisy and crowded bar. The solution we came up with, fitting the project requirements: a simple circuit that lights up an LED when a drink is placed on it. In practice, this would let the bartender know that your drink is empty or that you would like attention. 

For the prototype we built in class, we used two strips of copper tape affixed to a wooden stand to form a break in the circuit, with a metal drink can used to complete it. In a final product, the method for achieving this would likely be different, as condensation from the cup would damage the circuit. For a revision, we would use a rubber pad with a conductive material on the underside to complete the circuit. That way, any drink container could be used regardless of material, and the circuit would be protected from water damage.

 Bar Notification

Thank you! 

By: Camilo Miranda and Jonathan Carrasquer

Unconventional Switch: Tesoro's Date

 

We have gone the artistic route for our switch, and we decided to use a little piggy named Tesoro along with a copper rose to construct our switch. Our idea was to activate the LED when the piggy gets the roses. The roses were the most conductive out of the two and we decided to add a copper top hat, a copper saddle, and a copper tail to the piggy to make him conductive since he is made out of ceramic materials. We wanted the LED to switch on when he got the roses as a final touch for the date he is about to go on. So once the piggy was ready he would get his roses, and then turn on the green LED when he was ready to leave for his date. We really enjoyed taking the artistic route, as this allowed us to get creative with our given materials and make a cute story while completing this assignment. From a design perspective, this switch doesn't have any practical use, however the idea of sending a cute little piggy on a date with his roses was too adorable to not do.

Thank you! 

By: Anna Grant and Karina Vazquez

Unconventional Switch: Book with Light

 We decided to do a combination of things to make up the switch. One being that there are connections on either end of the book and a photo-resistor working in tandem. The general idea is that when the book closes then the wires meet and that allows the circuit to be finished. Then all you need is some light to shine right at the photo-resistor to turn on the green LED. The general idea is that maybe you want your kid to be reading right now so when the light is on that means the book isn’t open and being read so the kid isn’t reading. Maybe the kid needs to use a lamp to read cause it’s night time and can’t read the book without the lamp’s light incorporating the light part. Honestly there are a lot of ways to think about its use but it’s a weird switch for sure. 

Unconventional Switch: Clock

 

    Hello, This unconventional switch was made by Cameron Daniel and Andrew Swanstrom. This switch uses a clock to turn on an LED to serve as a more obvious visual indicator to let the user know what time it is without having to use a loud alarm. More specifically, this switch uses a clock hand with copper tape to complete a circuit by touching another piece of copper tape stationed on the edge of the clock to correlate to a certain time. In our switch when the minute hand strikes twelve the circuit is complete and the LED comes on. I think this switch could be viable in a real world setting as it's relatively simple and can help people who either can't hear an alarm or don't like the loud noise.

 Video

Ring Theft Unconventional Switch

The unconventional switch that we made works functionally by running power into a metal ring. The rest of the circuit is linked to a small loop of conductive tape wrapped around a finger. When the ring is worn by the finger with conductive tape, it triggers the unconventional switch, which in turn activates the running current through the rest of the circuit, activating the LED.

Artistically, this can be used as an anti-theft device. The context would be a metal model hand, with an LED indicator displaying the state of the ring. If the ring isn’t stolen, the LED indicator would glow. If the ring is stolen, the LED indicator would turn off.

Unconventional Switch: Needn't Draw Your Blade

“A ship in a harbor is safe, but that is not what ships were built for.” 

When the katana rests within it's scabbard, it releases a signal light to show that the armory rests. However, war is no longer won purely through honor, as thievery and schemes conquer the battlefield. Should a light be out, The blade keeper can react to something amiss amongst the base camp. 

My teammate and I (Anthony Caruso and John Collera) created a sword which completes a current when resting in its scabbard. We used masking and electrical tape to cover the conductive parts of the scabbard, and stuck tin foil on opposite sides of the scabbard entrance. We used a 9V battery so the sword wouldn't have to be tethered. The LED used has a voltage of 2V and a current of 0.02 amps. We deduced that the desired resistance was 350 ohms, which was achieved with 4 100 ohm resistors. 

We then wired a breadboard so that there would be contact with the aluminum foil on both sides of the scabbard, but the current would only be able to travel when conductive material bridges both pieces of aluminum foil (intended for katana).

Unconventional Switch: Novelty Letter Opener

 After going through a number of wildly different concepts and being squashed by material limitations, my partner and I came up with the idea of using this novelty letter opener to connect our circuit! Most of the circuit is cut and dry: 9-Volt battery charging 2 red LED's through 3 100 Ω resistors, connected by 2 ends of copper tape running through the helmet and completed by the sword itself.

The plan was initially to drill into the helmet and tape the LED’s in such a way that the light shines through the eye holes of the helmet, but the sword itself would’ve interfered with the potential path of it.

Thank you!