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As a dedicated cat owner, I often found myself worrying about my cat’s feeding schedule and the leftover food attracting ants. My cat, Nana, would sometimes skip her meals, leaving food uneaten and creating a mess. This not only wasted cat food but also attracted ants and other pests. I realized I needed a more efficient way to manage Nana’s feeding times and ensure she ate her meals without leaving leftovers.
To address this problem, I developed a smart cat feeder using an Arduino Uno R4 WiFi. This system is designed to dispense food twice a day, but it only releases food when a cat is detected by the camera during meal times. This ensures that food is only dispensed when Nana is ready to eat, reducing waste and preventing ant infestations. Additionally, I integrated a website for monitoring, allowing me to check whether Nana has eaten her food. This solution has given me peace of mind, knowing that Nana is fed properly without the hassle of dealing with uneaten food and pests.
Unlike existing solutions that dispense food at fixed times regardless of whether the cat is present, my smart cat feeder uses a camera to detect Nana’s presence, ensuring that food is only released when she is ready to eat. This prevents food from sitting out and attracting ants. The ability to monitor feeding times through a website adds an extra layer of assurance for cat owners, making it a more practical and useful solution for ensuring our pets are well-fed and healthy.
The smart cat feeder works by utilizing an Arduino Uno R4 WiFi as a main microcontroller, a Seeed Grove Vision AI V2 to detect Nana’s presence, a PIR sensor to detect motion, and a servo motor to dispense food. At scheduled meal times, the camera activates to check for Nana. If she is detected, the system dispenses a portion of food. If not, it waits and checks again after a short interval. Additionally, a buzzer provides audible alerts for feeding times. The main features of this solution include camera-based cat detection, scheduled feeding times, and an integrated website for remote monitoring. This ensures efficient and timely feeding while allowing me to verify that Nana is eating properly, all from the convenience of my smartphone or computer.
Hardware:
1. Arduino Uno R4 WiFi
2. Grove Vision AI V2
3. Servo Motor
4. PIR Sensor
5. Buzzer
Software:
1. Arduino IDE for programming the Arduino Uno R4 WiFi
2. Edge Impulse for training the cat detection model
3. MQTT for data transfer
4. Eagle PCB Designer
5. Solidworks 3D Designer