Automated Pet feederPresented by: Carl Skeene

OUTLINEMotivationIntroductionProblem statementAssumptionProposed solutionResults ConclusionFuture workReferencesAcknowledgements

MOTIVATIONCats waking me

up too earlyRegular feeding

scheduleNot being home

for days at a time

INTRODUCTIONMy cats always wanted to eat at 5:30 am

every morning. Not needing to get up until 6:15 it became a pain, because they are relentless when they want me to get up.

New work schedule keeps me away from home quite a bit. I need a solution to allow me to keep them on a regular feeding schedule without over feeding.

Tried store bought feeders that allow for food to refill itself.

INTRODUCTION Cont.Feeder that refills

doesn’t work due to one of my cats abusing the endless food.

Got the idea for my feeder from Mathew Newton who came in second in Mac|Lifes: Top Ten Wonders of the Home Automation World. http://www.maclife-digital.com/maclife/201003/?pg=33#pg33

PROBLEM STATEMENTNeed a feeder automatically

operate at two specific times in the day

Ability to control the feeder from locations away from home

Assumptions That my cats will let me sleep as long

as they have food at the right time. That I will be able to stay away from

home when needed without worry

PROPOSED SOLUTIONSteps taken to solve the problem of the

cats feeding time: Deciding to use microcontroller or PLCWent with the PLC after doing internet searches and found the Nano-10 PLC

Nano-10 offers what I needed regarding onboard server for web apps and Ethernet connections for network communication

PROPOSED SOLUTION Cont.

PROPOSED SOLUTION Cont.

PROPOSED SOLUTION Cont.Assembly had a few difficult parts, filing the

rod and coupling to connect the dispenser and the motor

PROPOSED SOLUTION Cont.

RESULTSFunctioning pet

feederAutomatically

feeds twice a dayAbility to

control feeder manually from inside or outside of home network

CONCLUSIONSThe results are very significant for

my personal use, I have already been actively using the feeder

I have learned a lot regarding the PLC that I purchased as far as programming and capabilities.

FUTURE WORKRedesign the exit rampAddition of water refillMake it less bulky, take up less

spaceAddition of a network video camera

to be able to monitorFood level indicator

REFERENCESNewton, M. (2012). Internet-Enabled Cat Feeder-

Mark 2. Retrieved on March, 2012, from http://www.newtonnet.co.uk/catfeeder/

Top ten wonders of the home automation world. Mac|Life.com 30-31. Retrieved Mar. 2010, from Top ten wonders of the home automation world. Mac|Life.com 30-31. Retrieved Mar. 2010, from http://www.maclife-digital.com/maclife/201003/?pg=33#pg33.

Triangle Research Int'l Inc. (2010, Nov.). In Nano-10 User Manual. Retrieved Mar. Day, 2011, from http://www.tri-plc.com/documents/Nano-10-UserManual.pdf

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSI would like to acknowledge my

father Mike Skeene and my brother Shawn Skeene with all the help in the physical construction of the feeder.

Thanks for watchingEmail: carl_skeene@mymail.eku.edu