Should you’ve ever been to a circus, you realize that we will prepare animals to do some fairly wonderful issues. As B. F. Skinner confirmed the world, reinforcement coaching could be very highly effective. Begin small by reinforcing step one of a trick, then construct that up by including extra steps as you go. That may be a labor-intensive course of, however what might we obtain if we have been to automate it? Might your pet discover ways to do one thing actually spectacular, like play a piano? If that’s attainable, then this DIY musical pet feeder would make it occur.
We are able to’t count on a canine or cat to understand music principle and even to learn sheet music, so that is all about memorization. It’s form of like Simon Says. In principle, the pet would begin by memorizing the primary notice in a sequence. Once they press the proper key to set off that notice, the feeder dispenses some meals. After Mr. Mittens figures that out, the complexity can enhance to 2 notes. Preserve repeating that course of and shortly Mr. Mittens could as properly be a Saint Bernard, as a result of he’s mainly Beethoven.
This musical pet feeder handles that course of itself with an automated tutor mode, so you’ll be able to fill it with meals and chill out within the confidence that your pet is progressing. An ESP32 handles the teachings and generates sound, which it outputs to a speaker via an amplifier module. That ESP32 and the opposite parts, together with the piano key buttons, solder onto a customized PCB. As a result of the ESP32 has Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, the proprietor can entry details about their pet’s progress via a smartphone.
The ESP32 additionally controls the motor within the feeder mechanism. That’s 3D-printed and reliably dispenses a constant quantity of dry meals. It’s hidden inside a CNC-cut wooden enclosure that, in fact, seems like slightly piano. The ol’ ivories are 3D-printed, too.
In all seriousness, it’s unlikely that even the neatest canine or cat would be capable of memorize quite a lot of notes in a sequence. Even when they did, they most likely wouldn’t have the dexterity to press the proper keys every time. That is, due to this fact, extra more likely to end in a sound much like a bag of potatoes being dropped on a keyboard, fairly than lovely music. However we’ll by no means know for certain except we check it at scale, so go forward and construct one in your pet!