Ok, so, I have ideas in my head, and they’re too big for me to realize. But here’s the general idea.
We place RFID tags and readers along a G-Scale train. These readers would send data to a computer. This computer controls not only the train, but also a vending machine. This computer ALSO connects to your cell phone. We build an app if we have to. But basically, you open your cell phone, and say “I want 3 bags of chips, and 2 cans of soda.”
Then, a train starts chugging along. It stops at designated places. The vending machine drops in your 3 bags of chips, and 2 sodas into the gondola cars in the back. Then upon registering that the weight has settled, it starts chugging along, and eventually gets to you.
Once it has registered that you’ve taken your cargo, it chugs back along to where it came from and waits for it’s next set of orders.
I’m thinking we can use a DCC+ controlled G scale train. Some RFID tags, an RFID reader, and like 6 gondola cars, where we install weight sensitive plates.
Thoughts?
But the whole reason I want to do this is to have a cool train come to me, to impress guests.
I saw a similar concept where a resteraunt had a train serve your food. You order is taken by you on a tabet. A human cooks it in a kitchen. Then a train brings it to your table. It waits for you to grab your stuff, and then it pulls away.
Now I can’t dedicate a full time human chef to this, and innitially the original idea was beer…and others could adopt this idea for 12oz cans of beer, since beer and soda are the same size, but I figured the next best thing was vending machine sealed snacks, and soda.
But, to your end, why not just connect all that stuff to a cheap router, and then NOT connect that router to the internet? If the idea is just to check inventory from your sofa, you could connect to that wifi, which IS connected to your tech, but NOT connected to outside the house connections.
Primary use would be for family to check what is in the pantry and fridge instead of calling me to get my gimp ass out of bed to do it for them.
Model trains was a hobby beyond my finances. I honestly don’t get the appeal for most people. If I could do some large scale casting and made a model large enough for a real boiler, steam engine, and make it large enough in scale to ride with kids in a large backyard garden type of environment, sure I would love a project like that. Prior to the crash that disabled me, that kind of project was about on par with where my maker skills were headed in life in general. I just do not like getting boxed into brand based consumerism hobbies. I really like the fundamental fabrication skills and engineering types of interests.
I can totally respect that people have different motivations and interests. I’m curious what the appeal is for model trains. Semaphores have basic branching logic; some people like painting miniatures; there are some electronics, so what is it that turns your gears?