This pet feeder differentiates between animals based on their weight

A common problem for owners of multiple pets is how to feed them separately. If an animal needs special food, is on a diet, or likes to eat from another's bowl, it becomes difficult to control each animal's intake. This is especially true when an animal does not like to finish its food bowl immediately and leaves it open for flight by another. To solve this problem and prevent one cat from stealing another cat's special diabetic diet food, Tomas built a selective pet feeder.

Like most of us, Tomas first thought of using NFC tags on his cat's collars to provide access to his food bowls. But NFC has a very limited range, which makes it difficult to use in a situation like this. After considering other solutions, Tomas realized that one of his cats weighed a little more than the other. If they were of similar weight it wouldn't work, but since the difference is substantial, he figured he could use a scale to provide access to the special diet foods.

This involved building a servo-operated lid for the special food and a cat-friendly scale. Any Arduino compatible board can control the operation. The scale is made up of four load cells connected to the development board via an amplifier. A sheet of MDF above the load cells provides a large surface for the cat to sit on. If the detected weight matches the diabetic cat, the development board activates the servo to open the 3D printed door that covers the diet food. If the scale detects no weight or if it detects the weight of the other cat, it keeps the door closed.

This is an elegant and simple solution that should come in handy for any pet owner who finds themselves in a similar situation.

Categories:Arduino