Log Week 1

 Log Week 1

The main objective of our project is to design a voice controlled lock. It seemed like an interesting idea and has practical functionality, as voice-controlled devices are becoming commonplace.

For the first week, a decent chunk of code was written. We started with two separate codes: one for the LCD screen, and the other program including the voice recognition and lock mechanism. Starting with separate functions makes it easier and more organized to work with.

The LCD screen was tested to make sure it was operational. The screen was connected to the Arduino board and H-bridge which connected to the laptop. The laptop was providing power to the circuits until we connected the battery to it, which makes it more convenient to work with and avoid draining the laptop’s power. The LCD screen display can be tweaked by a screw on the back to change the clarity and opacity of the screen.

LED Screen

For the buzzer, it needs to be connected to the ground and power output on the Arduino, then will be coded to only trigger after 3 wrong attempts, otherwise when we connect the alarm it wails constantly.

While we received our components, we either missed a few or found better options. The voice recognition module we received was not optimal for our project because its function was to output sound and not record it, so we ordered a new one which should arrive soon and integrated by next week. We also needed a universal car lock actuator which wasn’t on the websites provided, so we placed an order for it. Additionally, we need a breadboard because there are not enough ground ports on the Arduino, as well as adding a button on the breadboard to control the buzzer. The last thing we missed is a snap connecter for the battery.

Component List

Since we completed a good amount of work already, we’ve looked into ideas to make the project a little more challenging and interesting. Scrolling through GitHub, we found a more complex voice recognition code that will be able to recognize voices accurately. The way it works is basically that it will store the voices in a database, and when a user tries to operate the lock, the voice will be analysed and if it matches with the existing data by a certain percent, it will be unlocked.

We also briefly discussed building a case for the circuits to make the project look compact and presentable, though that is not a priority, it is worth considering if we have some time.


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