Theres a product that I was thinking of buying called the Para4ce PMB, which is a music box that plays when it detects movement. This is a great idea but it’s over £700 in the UK. It has a music box on the top powered by a motor and the motor only turns when movement is detected.
Because of how expensive the Para4ce is, I decided to try and make my own.
I bought a £50 Arduino type kit from Amazon that had several different types of sensors, including motion, temperature, proximity, etc. It also had a stepper motor, which I would have used to turn the Music Box.
After a couple of hours of programming the Arduino and making a small circuit I had the stepper motor spinning every time 1 of the sensors detected a change. For me it was quite simple to make… Great! There was no way I was going to spend that much money on something that could be made that cheaply from an Arduino kit and a 3D printed case.
I ended up converting what I had made into a small control unit for my Observatory, which is another story! …. I wish I had made a video of it working! Note to self: MAKE MORE VIDEOS!!!
EDIT: I now have a video of a working prototype:
Anyway, I decided to convert what I had made into an affordable app that everyone can use.
Luckily nearly all mobile devices have the sensors needed to make this, with the exception of Apple devices. Unfortunately, unlike Android devices, Apple mobiles do not have some of the sensors (like the temperature sensor). They do have the Proximity sensors, but you are unable to use it like how I wanted as it always turns the screen off, unlike Android which it can tell you the distance of whatever passed in front of the sensor.
This is a shame, Apple products are so much more expensive than Android but they do not come with the capability to use as many sensors that Android devices allow. However, the main functionality of this app is to detect movement and EMF signals, which is possible on Apple devices.
So there you have it, I made this app so I didn’t have to spend hundreds of pounds on a small machine that I made for £50. I am not saying “don’t but the Para4ce..”, I think it’s a great device and if you want to spend your hard earned cash on it then go for it! … but it’s a no from me.
Here’s a demo video of the Spirit Music Box:
