Charter 09 · count · programme assignment

Gate Keeper

Ultrasonic Visitor Counter

Count passages while being honest about ambiguous people and objects.

Difficulty
★★☆
Prefix
gk
Zone
entrance
Type
counter
Device
gk-01
Build time
8 hours

Mission

Build this

An ultrasonic passage counter with a four-digit display and visible greeting.

One kit, one team repository.

Borrowed parts are labelled below and have a fallback. The assigned device ID is fixed; sensing and behaviour decisions remain yours.

Bill of materials

Parts

SourcePartFallback
● kitUltrasonic sensor
● kitFour-digit seven-segment display
● kitSG90 servo

Disconnect USB before rewiring. Motors, the relay, and the servo need appropriate power and a shared ground. Never drive an actuator from the ESP32 3V3 pin.

Assembly

Build in evidence-producing steps

  1. Prove the connection first. Flash the unmodified first-message example with this charter’s zone, device type, and device ID.

    done when: gk-01 is alive on the developer view.

  2. Bench-test one input. Read the sensor or control in Serial Monitor before publishing or moving an actuator.

    done when: repeated physical conditions produce repeatable raw readings.

  3. Publish one registered measurement. Use the exact measurement and unit below.

    done when: the reading appears without a reject.

  4. Add the physical response. Keep spine.loop() running and avoid blocking delays.

    done when: repeated movement does not interrupt publishing or reset the board.

  5. Run the investigation. Collect the planned trials before tuning the final logic.

    done when: the build log contains observations, method, and a limitation.

Contract

Your topics

TopicUnitSuggested interval
garden/entrance/counter/gk-01/counteventson change
garden/entrance/counter/gk-01/distancecentimetres10 s

Read another team

garden/greenhouse-1/climate-node/gm-01/temperature

Physical behaviour

Alive

Wave once for each accepted passage event.

Your call: Design the debounce and passage-completion state machine.

Engineering evidence

Quantify false counts for stopping, pairs, bags, and direction changes.

  1. Write a fixed test script of at least 30 passages.
  2. Record expected and observed counts per scenario.
  3. Tune once, then evaluate on a fresh run.

If you are fast: Use two sensing positions to infer direction.

Acceptance

Ready when all six are true

  • The registered device is alive and publishing its required topics.
  • The reject feed is clear after the final firmware starts.
  • The device reads at least one declared cross-team topic.
  • A physical output responds to real data without blocking MQTT.
  • The build log contains method, evidence, uncertainty, and a known limitation.
  • The enclosure exposes no unsafe wiring and the device ID can be scanned.

Backbone now

Live status

Updates from the same public event stream

Checking gk-01…