Find Home Detector

The Find home detector is a device to show me the way home by indicating the direction with a light. It uses a LilyPad, GPS, compass and some LEDs. Using the GPS to get a position and then calculate the direction to the location of my home. The compass is then used to get my heading so it is possible to indicate the direction I should travel.

Step 1: Parts Needed

Hardware:
LilyPad Arduino
GPS Micro-Mini
Compass Module with Tilt Compensation
7 x LEDs to indicate direction
Conductive thread
Fabric
Battery holder (4 x AAA)
Battery

Optional Hardware
 2 x Magnetic Snap or similar to attach the battery holder for easy removable
 4 x Magnetic Snap or buttons

Tools:
Needle
Soldering iron

Step 2: Software Needed

Software
Arduino IDE

Software librarys:
TinyGPS by Mikal Hart
NewSoftSerial by Mikal Hart
Wire for I2C communication with the compass

Sketch
http://github.com/evilmachina/Find-home-detector

Step 3: Layout

Step 4: Sewing the Circuit

Start with the Lilipad and then the component closest GPS, compas and last the leds

TIP: Use glue to insulate and protect conductive thread knots.

Step 5: Batery Holder

Attach the Magnetic Snap to the bottom of the battery holder and to the fabric.

Step 6: Make It Wearable

Attach the Magnetic Snap or buttons alongside the side of the cloth.

Step 7: Uploade the Software

Download the sketch from http://github.com/evilmachina/Find-home-detector or use the attached pde file.
Update destinationLat and destinationLon to the location you want to find and upload it to your Lilypad.

Step 8: Find Your Way Home

Have fun!
/Marcus
http://www.slickstreamer.info/

Comments

[Boussole]

I'm pretty new to all of this and I'm wondering, is it possible to make something like this but with many, many more LEDs? I'm looking to make one about the circumference of a softball.

[Simpson_jr]

The lilypad arduino itself only has 20 pins of which you need several to check the compass/GPS. You could choose an arduino Mega though, which has 54 IO-pins, and/or use cheap shiftregisters/IO-expanders to increase the number of leds to a few thousand.
The mega board is a bit larger, using extra ICs will also increase the size and you'll need to adapt the code to drive the extra leds.

[lazer155]

Is it possible to program more than one waypoint? Like say instead of just 1 "home" location/destination, you can input 2 different ones and choose between the two. That way you can get to your destination and once there select your second home/waypoint to go back.

[Simpson_jr]

You would have to write your own program/adapt the code, but in theory you could have people travel to loads of different places.

[spencermon]

Now all you need is to build a steampunk style case for it. It would be sooooo cool. Although it already is amazing.

[eXtremeSomething]

you should enter it into the led contest, be quick it ends soon (11:59 PTD) today

[_macke_]

It is in the LED contest =D

[eXtremeSomething]

Its got my vote

[wilgubeast]

That's awesome. There have been nights when I could have used one of those.