r/PetsWithButtons • u/CupcakeAcceptable667 • 3d ago
Proof of concept: button using a capacitative captor (easier to activate for cats)
Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification
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.
92
u/FashionBusking 3d ago
YES!!!! THIS IS THE WAY!! This is amazing!
55
u/CupcakeAcceptable667 3d 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 3d 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”.
17
u/FashionBusking 3d ago
If my cat could read, he would ABSOLUTELY film himself hitting the "fuck you" button and email it to the button manufacturers.
9
u/Odd-Cartographer9328 3d 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.
7
u/IllustriousHabits 3d ago edited 2d 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.
2
4
u/Odd-Cartographer9328 3d ago
Congratulations on your ingenious invention! What you’re saying is completely correct: why are cats forced into a movement that is unnatural for them? My cats could certainly use such a button. I’ve been practicing with them for a year, but they simply don’t understand pressing it.
2
32
u/Eyjovin 3d ago
YES! This is the main issue I had with button training (tbh I gave up because of it). My cat just taps the button, he doesn't actually press it down.
15
u/laquintessenceofdust 3d ago
My dog evidently hated the sensation so much, but figured out that the buttons summon things he wants. So he used to pick up the mat, carry it to wherever I was, drop it upside down, and stand on the back. When I tried to prevent this by taping the mat down, he just abandoned the buttons entirely. Hates the buttons.
15
u/SurprisePiss 3d ago
We have one that goes to the mat and starts rolling around by it and streeeeetches her little arm out to gently touch the button. Sometimes she'll just rest her paw on top but never actually press. I wonder how many times she asks for things that we don't notice.
25
7
u/5entientMushroom 3d ago
Soooooo cool! I made an app that uses a camera to send a discord message if my cat presses a certain button as a free alternative to the FluentPet connect buttons. I'm planning on posting it at some point so people can use it for free. But I wonder if you could add some kind of bluetooth something to these buttons and connect it to either an app (or discord coz its easy and free) so you get a text, too, when a button is pressed? I've found it's super useful when im out of earshot.
8
u/charming-pomelo 2d ago
Love it! I would totally buy something like this. My cat has never been able to physically press the buttons, so she's resorted to biting them until it activates, which yields inconsistent results. This would be so much better.
5
3
u/IllustriousHabits 3d ago
I’d buy that! My Luffy learned how to press buttons but I think the other boys would take to this better.
5
u/tiny_abeille 3d ago
yes! i’ve been dreaming about this for a while. it took my cat a long, LONG time to get used to fully pushing the buttons, and a capacitive button would have been so much easier for her! this is the future IMO!
3
u/preraphaelitepunk 3d ago
My elder dog could use this, too! She's 9 lb soaking wet and has the daintiest touch; the only time she has activated buttons is when she accidentally steps on them while walking by. (My younger dog is more vigorous but is still grasping the concept of smacking a button.)
3
u/arillusine 3d ago
I love this! I paused teaching my cats how to use buttons because it’s so hard to get them to press down to activate them. Something like this would work SO well! Maybe I need to DIY something like this too…
3
1
1
1
u/Bright_Shake2638 2d ago
I thought this was the internet kitty Monroe for a second, who had a lot of trouble activating the button at first
1
u/JayNetworks 2d ago
Looks great and one of my cats presses by sitting on her buttons since she can’t front paw press hard enough and we have the FluentPet Connect which have a low grams of pressure needed.
There was another person who posted in this sub maybe a year ago or so who had added a touch sensor into one of the Connect buttons using a tiny circuit board that you can get online on most of the usual sites. Maybe look at that for some tips. I believe the board he used did auto calibration.
Those boards were only like 59 cents in an order of a few and cheaper as you got more. They were very small and could fit j side a FluentPet button. I suggested it to FluentPet and they took notes but no action yet.
1
u/i_sing_anyway 1d ago
My girl uses the buttons consistently but they're still a struggle for her. There's totally a market for this.
108
u/adoptachimera 3d ago
That’s a brilliant idea. I think that you need to take this post down, start your own company, and then become a millionaire! ❤️