One of, if not THE most popular installation I have done would have to be the Blender Defender. If you have not heard of it yet, please take a second to click and check it out. To sum it up, it keeps the cat off the counters by turning on the blender when it detects motion, and
While many people still enjoy reading about the project, and seeing the videos, I still randomly get a user ask me if they can “buy it”. The problem is that the Blender Defender is not really a set-it-and-forget-it type of installation. Nor is it one piece of hardware that is easily set up by the average owner of a counter climbing cat.
I’ve been toying with the idea of how I could manage to make the Blender Defender into an actual product in the past, but it has always just been thrown around with all my other ideas, never really coming to the front of the line.
Now, after some encouragement from others, I have finally decided revisit the idea, and obtain some parts from Newark.
Over the course of these posts, I will be documenting my processes of making a product out of a concept. A video recording, motion detecting cat deterring device may not be something you find on the shelves at your local store anytime soon, but the exercise in building this is going to be a fun one.
Now, on to the concepts.
Requirements.
These are the basic requirements of what I need to see with the Blender Defender.
- Portable
- Easy to use
- Plug and Play
- Safe
- Records Video
- Detects Motion
- Controls an Appliance
Portable
I need to be able to put one single thing into somebody’s hands. That will be the Blender Defender.
Easy to use
The target demographic here is not technologically savvy users; it is cat owners who like to laugh. I need to package this in a way that any user can figure out. The instructions of use should be easy to understand, and it should be difficult to break. (Technologically speaking, not physically)
Plug and Play
Once you plug in the Blender Defender, it should start working. Simple as that. Sure, you CAN change settings or other things, but you shouldn’t need to.
Safe
This is going to be controlling kitchen appliances, and will be switching mains voltage. It’s easy to do, but if done wrong can be fatal. Safety will definitely need to be taken into account here. Also, while on the subject of mains voltage, this one thing could be the main thing keeping me from making this a marketable product, as there are laws and regulations that I will need to look into. Certifications can be expensive.
Records Video, Detects Motion, and Controls an Appliance
These are the absolute neccessities of a true Blender Defender. Motion controlling relay switches exist right now, and sure, they would work for controlling a blender, but you don’t get the videos for later viewing. Motion detecting cameras exist, but you don’t get relay controlling, which defeats the purpose yet again.
Stay tuned to the next few posts, where I will be going over the expected challenges, design concepts, and build progress.
