Squat Depth Tracker

I made a box-shaped device capable of tracking your preferred squat depth, so that you can focus on technique without having to worry about depth. Suitable for all users due to its calibration functionality.

How to use:

• Attach the device to a power source to start it. Once it has started, perform squats above the device. It will measure the distance of each squat and remember it. Once you are done calibrating, press the button to enter the next stage. Your average depth will be calculated and remembered for future sets.
• Once you are done resting, press the button again to start a set. This time, the device will beep loudly when you have reached your desired squat depth, allowing you to focus 100% on your technique. The screen will also display how much squats you managed to perform.
• If you are done with resting, press the button again, and so on and so forth.

These are the physical materials needed to make the project:

• Arduino UNO
• Powerbank (or other source of power)
• Breadboard (any sort, really)
• 2 Resistors
• Arduino Button
• A transistor
• Arduino Buzzer
• A SHARP infrared proximity sensor
• An LCD Display (2x16) IC2
• About 20 wires (just in case some may break)
• Staple gun/Screwdriver/any method of attaching wood plates to one another.
• A tool to make holes in said wood. I used a saw and a small drill.
• Said wood to make the box and wood to attach individual components on the inside (you will see I used an aluminium plate on top, this is not recommended regarding electricity).

Digital materials needed to make the project:

• Arduino IDE.
• This is a link to a pixeldrain page where you can download all of the code required for this to work. Make sure you extract the folder and keep everything as is. Libraries are installed within the zip.
• https://pixeldrain.com/u/whpm9mSf

• Download the Arduino IDE from this website: https://www.arduino.cc/en/software
• When downloaded, open a new sketch in the IDE by going to: File > New Sketch. Then, in the new sketch go to File > Save As and check the location of the Arduino folder. Remember this location.
• Import the zipped folder from the previously posted pixeldrain link: https://pixeldrain.com/u/whpm9mSf

(same link again for convenience)

• Extract the zipped files and place BOTH the Squad Counter folder and the Libraries folder in the Arduino folder which you found during the previous tasks.
• Now, plug the Arduino UNO into your PC and go to: Select Board > The Arduino UNO name
• Then, press "Veridy" and upload the code to your arduino. Check if there are any errors. If there are, it is likely because the libraries cannot be found or where installed wrong. If not, great! All is settled then.

As seen in the materials section, you have need of several components and lots of wires, and a single resistor. This is pretty much all you need for this step, so just to repeat:

• Lots of wires (around 20, for organizing colors or in case some break)
• Two resistors
• The SHARP infrared proximity sensor
• A transistor
• The LCD display 2x16 I2C
• Your breadboard
• Arduino UNO
• Arduino Button
• Arduino Buzzer

Now, we are going to attach the wires in the correct places according to this schematic attached. If you follow this schematic, everything should work as intended. (WARNING! There is one exception. The schematic shows that the buzzerpin is attached to Analog pin 2 and the buttonpin is attached to Analog pin 3. You can either attach the wiring this way and go to this section of the code (see attached image) and change the button and buzzer pin accordingly, or change the wiring to fit the correct pins assigned in the downloaded code).

Now supply the Arduino with power and exercise some simple tests to make sure that the wiring is indeed correct and that the program works. If so, continue by soldering the wires into the breadboard in the following way (look at attached picture. This might seem confusing, but basically, make sure the buzzer and button are on the other side as the wires so that the wires are not visible from the outside of the device.

If you have soldered all wires correctly, you are done with this step.

I'll be very honest here. This stuff is not my strong suit and it shows in the pictures. So rather than the previous steps where I told you to follow everything I did exactly the way I did it, I strongly encourage you to NOT do it like I did. I will shortly explain what went wrong and what you should look out for when making this box, and then wish you the best of luck in creating something better.

What you definitely need: some holes or openings for:

• The buzzer (unless you want really soft sound).
• The button (extension to the button might be a good addition).
• The LCD display.
• The Sharp sensor.

Some things to keep in mind:

• These things are hopefully now attached to your breadboard and up and running correctly. If you have soldered everything, that will make this much easier.
• Please leave enough space between each opening in the top or you will receive short circuits, tightly crammed components, or you name it. Make sure that everything fits before you start creating random holes, or you are going to have some trouble.
• Preferably, make the opening of the box quite thin (around 0.3cm) so that the screen and sensor can be properly pushed through.
• A very good idea (one I did not do) is to make the top of the box a lid that you can open and close. My box is open at the bottom which is horrible for usability.
• Make the box entirely of wood or other not conductor materials to avoid short circuiting.
• I do not know how you want to attach each component to the inside of the box, but it might be a good idea to use tairips or some wooden holders. Do not use ductape as I did however, as this proved very clumsy.
• Also, try to avoid making the box to small. If your space is too crammed (keep in mind that a powerbank or battery needs to be able to fit in there too) this will generally be a lot harder than if you have a lot of space to work with. Prefer going wide over tall considering that you should keep about 15 cm between the sensor and your bottom if you want the measurements to be accurate. This shouldn't prove to much of an issue considering most adults will have about 50 cm to the ground in a good squat depth, but keep it in mind nonetheless.

I really wish you the best with this project and hope it may aid you in performing squats with better technique without having to worry about depth.