[James] got engaged recently, in part thanks to his clever GPS Engagement Ring Box, and he sent us a brief overview of how he brought this project to life. The exterior of the box is rather simple: one button and an LCD. Upon pressing the button, the LCD would indicate how far it needed to be taken to reach a pre-selected destination. After carrying it to the correct location, the box would open, revealing the ring (and a bit of electronics).
Inside is a GPS antenna and a Stellaris Launchpad, which are powered by three Energizer lithium batteries to ensure the box didn’t run out of juice during the walk. To keep the lid closed, [James] 3D printed a small latch and glued it to the top of the box, which is held in place by a micro servo. Once the box reaches its destination, the microcontroller tells the servo to swing out of the way, and the box can then open. As a failsafe, [James] added a reed switch to trigger an interrupt to open the box regardless of location. It seems this was a wise choice, because the GPS was a bit off and the box didn’t think it was in the correct place.
Swing by his blog for more information on the box’s construction and the wiring. We wish [James] the best and look forward seeing his future hacks; perhaps he’ll come up with some clever ones for the wedding like our friend Bill Porter.
cute
I would secretly hack it so that I would direct the fiancée to the kitchen and when finally arrived, the display would read: “Make me a sammich and clean this place up, woman!”.
Or would that be…. wrong?
Place is correct, timing is wrong. First you open the box, get a yes and then have the _box_ say all those words.
Just make sure you remove all the knives from the place first.
Let’s just hope we’ll never get our hands of one of these things with sub-decimetre accuracy….
Which things? Wives?
The GPS was off? What if it guided you to a sex shop, awkward!
@voxnulla – Nah, once you get to the kitchen have it say “Get your bitch ass in the kitchen and make me some pie!” Well, if you want to be single for the rest of your life. :)
I hear ya, relationships, it’s all about finding those boundaries…
that’s geofencing
I thought it was dorky, asked the wife for my real opinion, she said I was right this time. Her advice, a very expensive diner, flowers, and zero geek gadgetry.
But if she sees that level of dorkiness and still decides to marry you, you’re set.
Female opinion varies. I think this box was an awesome idea all around.
Just because you and your wife have no sense of humor doesn’t me that holds true for everyone.
I proposed to my now wife almost the same way about 4 years ago. But, my then fiance did not want me to publish the pictures. :-)
My box is bigger and all the electronics are hidden. Once opened, revealed pictures of us, and couple of noisemakers, and a note asking the question. I didn’t put the ring in the box, just in case something went wrong like a SW bug to ruin your day.
Just leaving the term “reverse geocache” here so others can find this page. (That being the accepted term for such gizmos.)
I did something very similar for a friend’s engagement a couple of years ago using a Netduino. (Let’s be honest it’s not an unusual project.) In addition to distance there were a few instructions – suggesting which bus to get, etc. Rather than a ring it contained a message and took her to a jewellers to pick a ring.
I’m not just doing a “me too”. I’m mentioning it as they’re married and their first kid is due next month, so I’d say it can be defined as a success.
Love the idea, but two things bothered me.
Spelling (auto-correct) error “micro servo” not “micro server”. Also, the adjective “little” is redundant.
3D printed tab? Why? it’s a tab! those are cheap and salvageable from almost anything. 3D printing on hackaday is what arduino was a few years ago… *grumble*
Ah, thanks for the catch.