An alarm clock made to eliminate morning doom scrolling
The Sunrise Phone Jail is a project I fully designed and made to help me kick my bad habit of scrolling on my phone in the morning. This clock allows me to put my phone in its “holding chamber” before I go to bed and then set my alarm for when I want to get up in the morning. Slightly before my alarm goes off, the LED matrix gradually gets brighter before ending in an audible alarm. After I wake up and turn the alarm off, instead of being greeted with my phone tempting me with the endless scrolling of the internet, this clock selects a productive activity for me to do. After I have some time to do my prescribed activity, my phone is released and I am ready to start my day.
This video demonstrates a full walkthrough of the functionality of the Sunrise Phone Jail.
Design and Production
The Sunrise Phone Jail uses an ESP32 with Arduino programming, driving a servo motor to control phone placement, a custom PCB LED array, and a 4-ohm speaker. The mechanical parts are entirely custom designed and 3D printed, featuring a round housing reminiscent of a traditional clock. The front plate of the clock is made from a translucent PLA that allows for the LED array to shine through and refract.
PCB Assembly and Electronic Functionality
I fully designed this uniquely round PCB and assembled hundreds of components onto it. While the final circuit was soldered together, this bread board version of the circuit proved full functionality before soldering everything together.