Hi, I am looking to get the Mindstorms Robotic Invention kit, to build a Robot with the following capabilities..

-Able to be remotely controlled outside of home

-Have a camera with motion detection

-Able to fire a water pistol

can someone advise if this is possible and has anything similar been created?  I understand I may need some third party parts.

The reason for it is absurd but valid.  Our cat door is always open during the daytime as our now elderly cat cannot and will not learn to push it open, has been like this since she was a kitten.  Recently a neighbourhood cat is taking advantage of this open cat door and coming in to eat our cats food and disappears.  

So I need a way to scare it off, if it is does enter our house, when we are at work etc, and as such decided maybe a robot with motion sending camera, and water pistol will be ideal.  I would remote in and control it, and fire the water at the intruder cat.

cheers :D

 

 

Edited February 28, 2024Feb 28 by jabz10

There are smart cat doors, which reads some info from cat necklace or something like that.

Your housemates also will be sprayed, as I'm not shure, if mindstorms will be able to distinguish between cat and something else moving.

thanks I have seen those, however the point is even with the smart cat door, the door it self still requires a manual push by the cat once unlocked, this is something our cat simply won't do. Which is why our cat door is propped open during the day.  

We do not have house mates, but with the remote control, I wasn't meaning it to be fully automated just yet.. what I want initially is, the Lego robot/camera to detect motion and notify me, and I will login via phone and remotely control the robot through the camera feed to check if it is indeed the intruder Cat, and if so chase it with robot and spray it with the water pistol.

 

1 hour ago, jabz10 said:

Lego robot/camera to detect motion and notify me

I'm afraid, that cat will be faster 

Maybe, if your cat is black, f.i. and you are shure, that one cat you don't wan't to let in house, set up mindstorms color detection, and make some door opener. Or you can use camera, to check if that is your cat at the door, and open it somehow remotely

Smart, AI-powered, automatic pet door - YouTube

Maybe a collar with an active radio like keyless entry system for cars would be simpler. If the system detects the collar nearby it can send a command to the mindstorm to open the cat door. When the collar is not detected, a close door command can be sent. Infrared sensors could be used to determine if it is safe to close the door.  Or activate the water gun if they detect something and collar radio signal is not present.