Arduino Bluetooth Controlled Mini Lift
Today's project is an Arduino Bluetooth enabled mini lift that will help you get small objects between various floors in your home or workplace. Sure you'll still need to have someone on the other floor to put in or remove items but this fun project save you from a lot of climbing up and down stairs. (particularly if, like us, you have habit of leaving your phone or wallet in various places and forgetting to take them with you). Now as long as you have a friend on the other floor who is willing to indulge you, those troubles are a thing of the past!
Putting it together
This build is on the more complex end of the scale so it's not recommended if this is your first time working with the Arduino platform and it's recommended that you check out some of the easier projects which would be better for beginners. But if you've been working with Arduino projects for a while and feel ready to step up to the next level, this little lift is a great intermediate project to help you break into the big leagues.
You can review the project design and all the parts you'll need by clicking here. For the code and assembly instructions, visit our tutorial on Hackster . If you're an experienced builder you can use this assembly tool to make modifications in the design and when you're satisfied just hit generate to create a step-by-step assembly guide.
The basic assembly consists of an Arduino platform paired to an electric motor and Bluetooth module. Since the electric motor requires more power than a lot of our other builds it is recommended that you use a 12V wall socket adapter a power source instead of a battery.
Once you've finished the basic assembly with the Bluetooth module and motor connected you need to attach the motor to a winch and connect that to the container you've chosen to be your 'lift car'. Now with the build complete it's time to code the Arduino platform and set up the Bluetooth module. After the coding is done, all that's left now is to pair the Arduino Bluetooth system to the control device of your choice. And voila! You now have a fully operational Bluetooth enabled, voice controlled mini-lift to use however you see fit.
Customize it
This lift has so much scope for customization. The most obvious choice, of course, would be to attach a more powerful motor and a larger container so that it can hold more cargo. Although if you're going to be carrying larger weights you should consider upgrading your lift's 'cable' to something stronger like thicker rope or even a chain attached to a toothed gear (think bike chain or something similar). Finally, you could even consider adding a counter weight like a regular elevator. This would help your motor run much more efficiently and use less power in the long run. Make these adjustments to your build and your simple little Arduino Bluetooth lift would basically be a remotely operated Dumb-waiter, able to carry quite a respectable amount of weight which would actually save you from hauling things upstairs yourself; which you have to admit, is pretty cool.
If you wanted, you could even change vertical lift system to something diagonal like a cable car or even completely horizontal, though you would need an additional gear at the far side to keep the cable moving.
Alternative applications
While the lift itself is a simple device, having an Arduino Bluetooth enabled platform with voice control paired to an electric motor unlocks huge possibilities when it comes to home automation. For example, you could create excellent automated control systems for the curtains or blinds in your home and with a bit of additional coding even create multiple stop points so you could customize the settings beyond just binary options like open and closed.
This is, of course, a simple application of this system which could even be applied to create much more advanced builds such Arduino Bluetooth enabled RC vehicles (But we'll save that for a future project)
What will you create?
Those were our plans for an Arduino Bluetooth enabled lift. We hope you enjoyed checking out this project guide as much as we enjoyed putting it together. Did you build it? With all the time you're saving on trips up or down stairs to retrieve things you need, maybe you could spare a few moments to let us know how it went. If you have any tips or awesome customizations that you made while putting this mini lift together, why not share with the community? Post your pictures, videos or custom instructions in the comments down below, we'd love to check out all your weird and wonderful Arduino creations!