At the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's (MIT) summer program MITES (Minority Introduction to Engineering and Science), a 6-week rigorous, summer, residential, enrichment program for rising high school seniors, I participated in the Electronics elective class. As my final project, my classmate and I designed, built, and programmed a motorized alarm clock using a RaspberryPi and Python. We were awarded the "Best Electronics Final Project." The Wake Me Up Motorized Alarm Clock is an alarm clock that plays preloaded songs or alarms while the car-like device simultaneously moves at the user's set alarm time. The song/alarm, movement pattern of the vehicle, and the alarm time are all customizable by using the LCD interface and buttons directily below.

The simple idea of wanting the wheels to move while keeping the LCD screen displaying the time correctly was one of our biggest challenges. In the end, we used a function that calls the DC motors on a sinusoidal pattern. Once the motors are called, they accelerate along a sinusoidal path and the rest of the program can continue running independently. We also had issues with weight distribution when placing batteries, cables, and wires on the vehicle. In the future, we hope to add an FM radio as an alarm choice. We would also like to add the option to change between 12 and 24 hour time. To improve the movement of the device, we would need to add more bumper sensors around the vehicle. This project taught me how to utilize library functions and work effectively under time constraints while having a lot of fun.