Taking the CO sensor out for a spin

I took the CO sensor out into the car and took the car out for a spin, my idea was to attempt to record how much and when the motor vibrated when it detected CO. I tried these in various situations;
with the windows up/down, while revving/changing gear and when smoking in the car. i found that the motor vibrated most vigorously at its peak  when the window was down and when the car was slowing down in traffic.



the video is poorly as i needed to multitask between holding the camera in a good view, focusing the camera and smoke and take note on when it vibrated the most at the same time (if that helps as an excuse), you can see and mostly hear that near the end of the video the motor was vibrating harshly as it was at its peak of the situation i mentioned before. 

Just browsing

I was browsing on Youtube searching for other arduino projects people have made on the topic of smoking and have came across a few funny ideas

Smokers Nightmare (Arduino Sprinkler System)

It Works! :o

The Video displays  how the Arduino Board works.

When the CO sensor detects CO, the motor vibrates. 

I found that the sensor is quite sensitive therefore i would need to change few values in the codes using research figures of when CO intake starts to get harmful.

what i plan to do next is make a cigarette holder that contains the CO sensor and Motor which wires up to the Arduino Board.

if this is successful then i might look into how i could apply wireless connection from the cigarette holder to the arduino board.

The Arduino Codes..

The Aduino Codes on the left were uploaded onto the arduino board in order to make the CO sensor work with the Motor, when CO was sensed more then '0' then it set the motor off, so it vibrated, in order to make this more less sensitive i have to input the correct research data in to the code.

Lets Start Simple..

so, my quick to do list in order;

I plan to set up the technical side of the arduino board first, by wiring up the CO Sensor and Motor to the arduino board and then using codes to program the way it works.

After i am happy with that im going to start neating it up and then find ways to attach the CO sensor with in the Cigarette Holder ( which i shall make ) that should be wired up to the arduino board.

Then i will look into ways i may improve this by allowing a wireless connection between the sensor data and the arduino board in order for it to have less hassle while in use..

Important Note

I have noticed a possibilitly of the system i have planned to encounter a problem. when i mapped out a possible programme i realised that the CO sensor may dysfunction at a certain point, it may not work the way i intend for it to. by monitoring the immediate smoke, there may be a possibility that the smoke already contains very high amount of carbon monoxide that may trigger the alarm constantly, or even when not in use. it may also not consider the pattern one may smoke in, they may continuosly inhale the smoke with out a pause which may cause the CO sensor to read high amounts of CO to then activate the alarm, which may not be so accurate. Therefore i was thinking, if this problem is to possibly exist, i may consider looking into adding an inhaling detector which may be as simple as a suction button, that records the number of drags and then triggers the carbon monoxide sensor to read the level of CO with every drag. I may then set a certain limit on how many times the CO levels may rise high, for example, 5 times, so when it is higher then or equal to 5, the alarm will be set off.

i have come up with a simple order to remind me of this process, using digits as examples only;

if COsensor > 500

count ++

if count >= 5

trigger alarm

on loop

Flow Chart/ Programme And Use

SparkFun

http://www.sparkfun.com/products/9403

Wiring Example

Technical Data Sheet

Next steps

I deconstructed how my cigarette holder might look and what parts it may contain;

 - A mouth piece 

- A O-Ring to hold cigarette

- A small hollow tube for sensor

Other things i will need;

•  carbon monoxide sensor
• small vibrating mechanism 

I have to start looking out how i might programme my cigarette holder to vibrate when it senses a high carbon monoxide intake, before this i will have to research levels of carbon monoxide in cigarettes. 

/mq-7-carbon-monoxide-sensor-breakout/

2 counteracting sites

I found two sites that counteract each other in different ways, one mainly tempts smoking and supports smokers through buying smoking accessories and another that promotes quitting by suggesting another alternative that acts similar to smoking however is much safer.

Encouraging smokers to continue  <- this site displays smoking accessories that encourages smoking

promotes quitting    <- the site displays other similar alternatives to smoking such as electronic cigarettes to encourage smokers to quit

I noticed that a majority of smokers disregard information that is given in plain text although a lot of money is spent under campaigns that encourage people to stop smoking.

I believe that smokers are aware of the dangers of smoking however the adverts are not really personal enough to allow some people to see any personal link, with the device i am hoping to make, will allow the personal user to see their personal intake and the harm it is causing by smoking, it may help people to consider making a small change, either by quitting or adjusting the way they smoke. even if this much is not successful in certain smokers, the device simply allows the smoker to be alerted of the damage it is causing to their own health.

My Final Decision...

Right my final decision is to quit smoking.. tomorrow..and when tomorrow comes maybe the next day =)

ok first thing first, second thing second:

I have decided to combine elements and notes from my first idea with my second idea. I plan to keep the subject about smoking and subject of Carbon Monoxide and create a device that holds and allows you to smoke a cigarette and at the same time detects how much carbon monoxide one is inhaling, from this i may decide to add a small vibrating device that vibrates the holder when it senses a high carbon monoxide intake to alert the smoker that they are taking too much carbon monoxide so they are able to stop, rest and adjust.