Automate Your Window Shades with the Mini Blind Minder & Weekend Projects

Arduino Home Technology
Automate Your Window Shades with the Mini Blind Minder & Weekend Projects

wp10_mbm_620

The Mini Blind Minder is the latest addition to our beginner-friendly series of Weekend Projects. While the project’s difficulty is rated at “Moderate” some readers have made suggestions that either take this project to the next level or provide solutions specific to their needs around the home (or office).

A few ideas that have been put forth:

  • Operate multiple mini blinds with several servo motors.
  • Mount the servo on the side of the enclosure for mini blinds that get pushed up/down to open/close.
  • Use an LDR or other light-sensing component to automatically open mini blinds when light reaches a certain level.
  • Power the device with the sun itself.
  • Use a WiFi or Ethernet shield for networked opening & closing.
  • And some next-level mods include: a TFT touch display for setting the desired temperature with a slider or simply displaying sensor information using an RGB LCD shield or monochrome display.
Mini Blind Minder circuit
For some the Uno itself is a bit of overkill, and the brains of the circuit could either be built on a breadboard (using a MintDuino or other solution) or soldered directly onto the perfboard, saving your Arduino for prototyping.

Watch the video below to see the Mini Blind Minder in operation and if you have any thoughts for mods, improvements, or changes leave a comment below. And if you actually build or modify this project in any way be sure to document your process and send us an email with pictures and a story of your experience.

YouTube player
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I'm an artist & maker. A lifelong biblioholic, and advocate for all-things geekathon. Home is Long Island City, Queens, which I consider the greatest place on Earth. 5-year former Resident of Flux Factory, co-organizer for World Maker Faire (NYC), and blogger all over the net. Howdy!

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