Greetings all,
I'm planning a school project for some middle schoolers that goes something like this:
- Fits in the shell of a ballpoint pen
- when you tap on it say 3 times (tap-tap-tap), it starts a cricket-like chirp every few seconds until you tap (say) 4 times (tap-tap-tap-tap).
That's it.
My background is software development, so MCU selection is not a strength by any means.
My guess is I'll need an MCU with the following features:
- ultra-low power consumpation (in fact a chargeable capacitor might ft in the pen better?
- a tiny piezo speaker for chirping
- an accelerometer to sense the tapping (just on-off, not size-of-tap, though that might be cool)
- a timer chip to be able to have each student create their own special "signature" chirp (and tone/note control)
I've got a TI ez430-F2013, but think it has none of these features - only the on-board temp sensor.
Thoughts?
Imagine a bunch of students all building projects, then sitting in class, turning lights OFF, then progressively passing their own personal pens around in the dark for say 3 minutes, then each person tap-tap-tapping the pen in their hand to start it, then each student attempting to wander around in the dark trying to find the pen with THEIR signature chirp, and you have the idea of what kind of fun I'd like to have.
Thanks in advance for your advice,
-Mark