The need for an automatic cat feeder is self explanatory. Cats (our cat’s name is Bella) can be obnoxious when hungry and if your cat is like mine will eat the bowl dry every time. I needed a way to dispense a controlled amount of food automatically by 3 methods – 1. Alexa voice command, 2. by a schedule, and 3. by a button in SmartThings. I also wanted a way to track how and when the cat gets fed so we don’t feed twice (sometimes when when my wife feeds the cat and then I feed the cat again 15 minutes later).
This project is not overly difficult, I am no developer, nor an engineer, but there was many resources online that helped me. I’m compiling everything I used and all the steps necessary for you to complete this project too. Enjoy, and happy building!
Stop breadboarding and soldering – start making immediately! Adafruit’s Circuit Playground is jam-packed with LEDs, sensors, buttons, alligator clip pads and more. Build projects with Circuit Playground in a few minutes with the drag-and-drop MakeCode programming site, learn computer science using the CS Discoveries class on code.org, jump into CircuitPython to learn Python and hardware together, TinyGO, or even use the Arduino IDE. Circuit Playground Express is the newest and best Circuit Playground board, with support for CircuitPython, MakeCode, and Arduino. It has a powerful processor, 10 NeoPixels, mini speaker, InfraRed receive and transmit, two buttons, a switch, 14 alligator clip pads, and lots of sensors: capacitive touch, IR proximity, temperature, light, motion and sound. A whole wide world of electronics and coding is waiting for you, and it fits in the palm of your hand.
Have an amazing project to share? The Electronics Show and Tell is every Wednesday at 7pm ET! To join, head over to YouTube and check out the show’s live chat – we’ll post the link there.
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