Another Final Project Update

Over the weekend I build a prototype of the switch I will be using in my final project. I needed to find metal that would carry a current. Many of the types I experimented with had coatings that left them not conductive but I found that electrical covers carried a charge nicely.



For the prototype I hooked up one cover as a ground to a battery and one as the positive. A light was hooked up to the ground and another smaller piece of metal. The smaller piece of metal is held off of the positive with a tiny flexible piece of rubber. These parts were stacked and encased with disks of foamcore to keep everything in place.

When the top of the switch is stepped on, the circuit is completed and the light lights up.



For the final I will wire several of these switches in a parallel circuit to either a light matrix or possibly an auditory sensor. The switches will be placed in cut out circles from sheets of rubber so they are only compressed a certain amount without applying too much pressure to them. Over that will be some sort of mat that let's you know where possible stepping locations are.