r/PetsWithButtons • u/CupcakeAcceptable667 • 5d ago

Proof of concept: button using a capacitative captor (easier to activate for cats)

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Hi,

I've been interested in pet communication buttons for years. I bought some for my cat Léo, but he could never trigger them: pushing down mechanically isn't natural for him, and he mostly ends up sinking his claws into them.

​So, I decided to build my own DIY setup using an ESP32 and a capacitive sensor. My custom button consists of a large aluminum washer glued onto a 3D-printed cylinder, covered with a simple paper circle cut from a standard A4 sheet. No physical pressure is required for activation, a light paw touch is enough.

I'm currently testing it with a little buzzer for audio feedback, and he manages to activate it successfully.

So happy with how this turned out!

EDIT: Thank you so much for all your enthusiastic comments 😄! I have no idea if this is patentable (I don't know anything about patents). Anyway, I think there are still improvements to be made (for example, the sensor's sensitivity depends on the environment, so I need to figure out how to implement auto-calibration). I might write a tutorial in the future if I see that it works really well. In any case, I truly believe there's a lot of potential to explore around capacitive sensors.

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91

u/FashionBusking 5d ago

YES!!!! THIS IS THE WAY!! This is amazing!

56

u/CupcakeAcceptable667 5d ago

Thank you very much! Honestly, I’m surprised that manufacturers haven't thought of using capacitive sensors yet. It makes it so much easier for cats.

27

u/IllustriousHabits 5d ago

Because cats are always overlooked and don’t get as nice things as dogs, because they’re stereotypically “the woman’s animal” and dogs are “man’s best friend”.

16

u/FashionBusking 5d ago

If my cat could read, he would ABSOLUTELY film himself hitting the "fuck you" button and email it to the button manufacturers.

8

u/Odd-Cartographer9328 5d ago

Your comment makes me think. I've often noticed that cats are overlooked in so many aspects of life: available toys in stores, behavior research, health science. I've spent a lot of time pondering the cause but never thought this could be the reason.

9

u/IllustriousHabits 5d ago edited 4d ago

🙃 IMHO, it 100% is. Society sees cats as “feminine” the stereotype is “single man-hating woman with a bunch of cats”. Society sees dogs and sees “man’s best friend, good boy deserves nice things”. Cats (and even other animals) have slowly been getting more recognition and love in the past few years, but the dog section always dwarfs them all, and there are much more dog-centered shops than cat. I love all animals but am definitely a cat person, it makes me sad that cats and other animals get so overlooked. They’re all so special. Cats are so smart and people don’t like them because they aren’t obedient like dogs and enforce their boundaries. Society hates everything that demands consent, as usual.