I'm looking to interface w/ my car

edited February 2015 in Magnets
In looking for what could be practical applications of having an implanted magnet, which I should have by next week or so, I had a thought about extending my senses to my car.  I'm planning on using Arduino compatible components, either a sonar or infrared proximity sensor.  I'll place this device behind the grill of my car and run a wire back into dash area (I drive a Miata, so it's a short distance).  
I then want to make a universal input glove, with wire coiled around the finger with the magnetic implant and a sort of universal port on the back of the glove, that would attach to any of these devices, whether they're on a hat or in this case coming from my car.  This would give me an early warning system, basically giving me a sense for when I get to close to the car in front of me..... even if I was being irresponsible and not paying attention.  Like looking at my stereo or phone, I'd still "feel it" should my car get too close to another car.  

Comments

  • That's...a very practical application :D can anyone tell us if this would work? I'm all for hacks that let me drive irresponsibly :)
  • The biggest possible problem would be having the signal travel the length of the wire, which would be about 6'.  Other than that, it's really already been done by one of Dr. Warwick's grad students, he has a sonar array on his hat going to a wire coil around the finger.  That and a video I saw on youtube which showed a box working on the same principle and the components for both seem to be the components that are used for the Arduino projects; there are a bunch of different sensors you can get that fit that universal form factor.  They are for building robots, but Cyborgs are just sooooo much cooler!  
    The next step would be to look for something that could send a wireless signal.  Basically anything that can send a pulse with a varying frequency should be able to be modified to work in this way.  It's really not much more complicated than a wireless telegraph.  So eventually I'd want to have a glove with a wireless receiver, which then passes pulses of current to the wire wrapping.  Then any device set to communicate with it would work. 
  • I've actually been working as a sleep tech for the last 16 years, so I have quite a bit of experience in biomedical engineering.  Where I don't have experience is in building robots, so I'll have to look into the specs for the circuits, etc. but some of the principles are similar to projects I've worked on.  
  • @tim116:  Not only has that concept been done by Warwick's students, but it's been done by Grindhouse Wetwares.  In fact, once we get v1.0 out, nearly the exact glove you describe should be available; all you'd need is to hood up the sensors.
  • i don't see a problem with running a wire through your car.
    as you already found out. you'd need some suitable sensors (usualy ultrasonic sensors are used for this), a microcontroller to process the signals (an arduino would work fine). and last but not least you'd need some electromagnets (simple wire coils would do) along with propper electronic controlls (like a small power transistor, and antiparallel freewheeling diodes for the coil).
    a reasonable project roundabout. if you hit a roadblock, post on the forum or ask for help on irc. i'm sure i can iron out most of the issues you might encounter
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