Introduction
This is an interactive installment to promote political awareness to youths.
It was programmed in the Arduino IDE but made compatible with the ESP32 microcontroller and intended to be paired with the Adafruit Mini Thermal Receipt Printer: ID 597. However, the printing parameters can be changed for other thermal printers.
The thermal printer code is referenced from: https://github.com/BinaryWorlds/ThermalPrinter
I made and published the 3D models here: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5431005
This is the GitHub page for the project: https://github.com/Victor2266/RedButton-Project
Operation
An operator uses remote access software to remote into an android phone, raspberry pi, or pc to pilot the device using a serial CLI terminal that I programmed.
- A student sees the table with a big red button
- Curious students press the button
- A receipt is printed through a slot on the table asking them a question
- They reply with a yes or no by pressing the button once or twice.
- If they are okay with speaking then more open-ended questions are asked and they respond through a microphone
- The operator can then type witty remarks to their answers
- Eventually, they get to ask a question that the operator would answer.
- After the interaction, a QR code would be printed to redirect towards a landing page where additional information is collected and the organization is introduced to the users.
Goals of Project
- Investigate whether a chatbot is worth building
- Is it possible to engage youth, stimulate social media, and get students involved in local politics
- Get youths to talk to their families about local politics
- Collect contact information
Learning Outcomes
- I got more familiar with developing on the ESP32 and other devkits.
- I learned some C++
- I got to solder all the wires
- I practiced my woodworking skills by creating the outer enclosure
- I designed and 3D modeled the box itself
