Instead of a lock, the Digital Treasure Chest opens by entering a code. Not just any code, you need to enter this one by reaching the exact right pressure on a pressure sensor! As you hit thr right value, you can confirm it with a button and move to the next number in the sequence, until you finally open the box to reach your precious items!
Apart from learning to work with microcontrollers and electronics, I also tried out new skills such as welding and metalworking. This project was made for the first-year HKU course “If This Then That”.
The chest uses a 14-segment display to communicate the current value with the user. I had been wanting to program these displays for years, and this course proved to be the perfect opportunity for that. In order to drive these displays, I had to write a custom C++ controller. It uses a port expander and bit-encoded values to drive the characters individually.