The EDDgy
Introduction
Hey there! You ever wonder what is like to have a knife that doesn't cut you if it touches your skin? Well, keep imagining since what me and my team have make is close but could use a little work.
Concept
Maybe a little explanation. The concept behind the functionality of this knife is similar to the concept of the NGR. Capacitance. So as explained before, human capacitance and the capacitance of a specific metal are different. So utilizing this theory, we created a detection system that reads the time it takes for electrons to travel through the material of the circuit.
Software
So why does it matter? Well we found that human flesh and metal have very different capacitance's. But it was NOT consistent so to solve this inconsistency, we needed some sort of computing system to actually read the value and do something with it. So we used a micro Arduino chip to function as our processor. And for the software, it was simply "compare and reassign".
Hardware
As for the actual model, we needed a shape of a knife like a standard kitchen one. But we also wanted to make it so that it would be able to contain all the entrails including: processor, wires, battery, knife, release system.
So as modeled to the right, there are spaces for each and every piece of the knife's organs.
Hardware
As for the actual model, we needed a shape of a knife like a standard kitchen one. But we also wanted to make it so that it would be able to contain all the entrails including: processor, wires, battery, knife, release system. So as modeled to the left, there are spaces for each and every piece of the knife's organs. In the picture to the above, this is the what each piece assembled looks like. Haha we did use a lot of electrical tape but it was working! In the picture you see a pretty ghetto prototype of our idea. It has a release system embedded into the top size of the blade. Given the power constraints, we needed enough space to store a portable battery. Look back, we probably could have used a smaller battery to reduce weight.
Performance
So I guess this part is supposed to go into the food section, but in the end, the knife does function and did fulfill its purpose in creation. The picture on the left are dishes made entirely using the EDDgy knife. As you can see, it looks edible!