MAKE Weekend Projects - Monkey Couch Guardian

I invented the Monkey Couch Guardian, and wrote a how-to so you can build one, too.

Combine an Arduino with a proximity sensor, and make an obnoxious device to discourage cats and other fur-shedding pets from jumping on beds and couches. This project will also introduce you to the SPDT relay, a fundamental component of hobbyist electronics projects.

Monkey Couch Guardian: complete instructions

Mark Frauenfelder is the founder of Boing Boing and the editor-in-chief of MAKE and Cool Tools. Twitter: @frauenfelder. Come and hear Mark speak at the ALA conference in Chicago on July 1.

MORE: Delightful Creatures • how to • make

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joeposts

Also works on toddlers and the elderlies.
pizzicato

Those cymbal banging monkeys are expensive, tried to get one after watching that film… Really neat idea.
mtdna

There is no way this could possibly be used for evil.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/stefan_e_jones/ Stefan Jones

You could substitute other noisy toys in place of the cymbal-monkey. An abusive mechanical parrot, or one of those Japanese robots.
- Donald Petersen
  
  Nerf turrets… certain battery-powered Super Soakers… pillows full of joy buzzers… an array of twelve sun lamps focused on one cushion… the possibilities are mouthwateringly endless!
http://ae4rv.com/ royaltrux

Reminds me of this: http://www.plasma2002.com/blenderdefender/
Nash Rambler

Look, am I crazy, or is this thing just a project that is begging to be destroyed by your pet?
KWillets

It’s easier to modify a toy that has a built-in trigger. I recently put together a Neko Lucky Cat with an HC-SR04 ultrasonic rangefinder to ”greet” the drug dealers who loiter in our doorway. The photocell that it came with didn’t work well in daylight, and the rangefinder is more precise in a busy environment.
p96

I know it’s a simple way to get people started with the Arduino platform, but couldn’t this have used a simple delay circuit like?: http://www.aaroncake.net/circuits/relaytim.asp
- Mark_Frauenfelder
  
  Sure, but like you said, it’s a simple way to get people started with the Arduino platform.
  - http://www.facebook.com/people/Ray-Perkins/1314630060 Ray Perkins
    
    A worthwhile goal, but overkill. I have an old motion sensor that I added a relay to, which will do the same thing. No monkey, but I do have an old car alarm…
Boundegar

How many redstone repeaters do you need to make the Arduino?
electricdoodle

Can I say that I have never made anything – or even been tempted – before but this project has me wondering if I could do something like this. Or problem is our dog and this sounds terrific fun…I’ll show the wife (she was an electronic engineer and is now a science teacher). I’d love to do this! :)