Beer fridge on the go
It's been a little while since my last post about the beer fridge so let's get you up to date. Since my last post:
1. My company has sponsored the fridge (so they'll pay for all the parts :-) )
2. We spent a Saturday getting to work on it.
3. It's not finished yet
4. I'm having issues with the MOSFEST/solenoid part
The basic design is as follows:
A fridge will be locked from the inside by a set of solenoids acting as bar locks. The solenoids and the corresponding LEDs are controlled by an Arduino. The Arduino takes commands from a Raspberry Pi over serial and the Pi will have network connectivity.
If you want to open the fridge, complete the fiendish hacking challenges on the Pi. Each challenge will control 1 or more solenoid. Unlocking the solenoid will only keep it unlocked for 30 seconds.
On the front of the fridge is a little black box. This has a set of red and green LEDs that will change whenever a lock is opened. There will also be (very importantly), a key lock that will bypass all challenges and power all the solenoids. This is because if (when) the pi or Adruino crashes, I still have a way to open the fridge. Otherwise it would be a matter of crowbar and damage.
fridge with the override lock |
I was thinking of having a Python script that sent the command over serial. The problems are that the exact serial port can change and also that writing to the serial port requires root permissions. I need to create a user to do this then Suid the python file (possible?).
Finally it will be a matter of mounting it on the door. I'm a little worried that the condensation inside the fridge will screw with the electronics. Time will tell