[mulcmu], we suppose, frequently wastes a lot of water while daydreaming in the shower. While daydreaming in the shower one day, we suppose again, he came up with the idea of keeping on task while in the shower. Thus was born the shower metronome, [mulcmu]’s entry for The Hackaday Prize.
The goal of the shower metronome is two-fold. First, it reduces the amount of water used in the shower. Secondly, it keeps the user on time for work. The shower metronome does this with a small audio beep provided by a small microcontroller attached to the shower frame or shower curtain.
The guts of the device are an MSP430 microcontroller, a few coin cell batteries, and a hall effect sensor that turns the device on, just like a magnetic door or window alarm. The microcontroller choice is perfect for the application; the MSP430 is extremely low power, and the device only draws 1uA in low power mode. This means the shower metronome will last a while when used only a few minutes a day.
“Looks like the peaks are indeed greater than ±100 volt. This makes sense that more voltage is needed for more volume. I think next will be to test a voltage multiplying circuit or driving the 4-pin device from the MSP.”
Yep, driving a piezo at >100V in a closed bathroom will get you out of there pretty quick.
I have a 12litre hot water heater for my shower, there is no time for daydreaming
Some of mankind’s greatest technological achievements were conceived while taking a shower. So perhaps this will have the unintended consequence of slowing the pace of development.
On the other hand, if you are daydreaming about a coworker, then this might reduce unintended pregnancies or sexual harassment lawsuits.
I guess it is too early to determine if it is a net win or lose for the human race. But we will save water.
I had a thought for a shower device after reading a bottle of shampoo. The bottle suggested saving water by shutting off the shower while lathering up. Which made me think, a foot pedal control would be good to activate the water only when you needed it.