Automatic Opening and Closing Window

This project started when a disabled man contacted our team at the Edgerton Center and asked if we could design a window that opens and closes automatically as closing the windows in his house required him to leave his wheelchair. 

We settled on a design using a DC brushed motor from a FIRST Robotics kit and a #25 chain drive on each side as to not apply a torque to the window. The motor was driven by a small ESC to which instructions were sent from an Arduino Uno. In the second version, the motor was changed to a smaller and less powerful model and gears were` added to provide more force and less speed. A DPDT rocker switch was also added to the side of the window as a physical control. 

In the end, while the project was not as successful as I hoped, I learned a lot from my experiences. This project was my introduction to gear ratios, 3D modeling and embedded programming with Arduino and C++.