In and of itself this mobile chicken coop is a pretty nice build. There are some additional features lurking inside which you don’t find on most coops. [Neuromancer2701] built-in a set of sensors which can be accessed wirelessly. It makes it a snap to check up on the comfort of the hens without leaving the couch.

At the heart of the sensor system is an Arduino along with an Xbee module. The build isn’t quite finished yet, but so far three sensors have been implemented. A thermistor is used to read the temperature inside the coop. To make sure there’s enough water, two sheets of foil tape were applied to the water reservoir. The CapSense library measures the capacitance between these plates which correlates to the water lever (we’ve seen this type of water level sensor before). And finally, there’s a sensor that can tell if the door to the coop is open or shut.

He’s having trouble automating the door itself. This can be pretty tricky, especially if you go for a super complicated locking mechanism like this one.

Wondering what you get when you mix an Arduino kit with some food coloring and plenty of water? Well, the Digidrench team came up with the concept of developing a media controller that mimics the flow of water in and out of three separate containers. The pay-off? Seeing three of the team get coated in a brightly colored mess. An Arduino kit is connected to a sensor that gauges the amount of water in the tanks and transmits the watery action to a corresponding video slice. Take the water out, and the deluge reverses. Pour faster, and the test subjects get poured on faster. Pour slowly and, well, you get it. You can laugh at their cheerfully colored misery right after the break.

Continue reading Digidrench whets our appetite for water-based Arduino adventures (video)

Digidrench whets our appetite for water-based Arduino adventures (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 10 Nov 2011 15:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.