If you happen to’re discovering that you just get caught together with your hand within the cookie jar a lot too usually (who doesn’t this time of yr?), you then may wish to take a look at Milos Rasic’s newest undertaking. Anyone that desires a cookie from Rasic’s Good Cookie Jar goes to need to work for it! The one method to raise the lid and get a candy deal with is to go for a run first. Personally, I’m nonetheless attempting to determine if that’s a good suggestion or merciless and strange punishment.
The Good Cookie Jar takes on an issue many people know all too nicely in the course of the colder months: loads of snacks and fewer excuses to get outdoors. Rasic’s resolution is as intelligent as it’s ruthless. The jar seems completely odd on the skin, however contained in the lid is a small locking mechanism that refuses to budge till its proprietor meets a predefined operating aim.
An summary of the design (📷: Milos Rasic)
This isn’t Rasic’s first try at combining health and confectionery denial. He initially constructed an analogous machine greater than six years in the past, again earlier than he had entry to a 3D printer. That early model relied on hand-cut plywood, improvised steel components, and a a lot bulkier design. The brand new iteration is smaller, cleaner, and way more refined, because of trendy microcontrollers and customized 3D-printed elements.
The system is centered round a compact mechanical lock pushed by a tiny SG90 servo motor. As an alternative of straightforward linear pistons, the redesigned lid makes use of small gears with swinging arms that stretch outward to carry the lid firmly in place. The entire electronics are neatly packed into the lid itself, together with an ESP32-S3 microcontroller for Wi-Fi connectivity, a chargeable battery, and a charger module.
On the software program aspect, the Good Cookie Jar depends on the Strava health platform to determine whether or not you’ve earned your snack. The ESP32 runs a small net server and it periodically polls the Strava API to examine the person’s most up-to-date exercise. As soon as the recorded distance meets or exceeds the goal, the servo springs into motion and unlocks the lid. To preserve battery life and keep away from an annoying buzz, the code attaches the servo solely when it wants to maneuver.
Rasic has supplied loads of particulars should you’d wish to construct your personal Good Cookie Jar. However be warned: in order for you what’s inside, you’d higher lace up your trainers first.
