Nolan's Projects
Our own project
NIGHT WATCH NW-1
Raccoons, rats and opossums keep visiting our house. We are building a solar-powered turret that spots them and stings them with a non-lethal shot so they learn to stay away.
The big question
Can a machine we build make animals choose to stay away, and can we prove it with numbers?
Now: G0 ScopeBuild starts spring 2027
No packet, so we write our own
Dusty had a school packet and due dates. This one does not. We set our own gates, and Dad signs off before we move to the next one.
G0 ScopeNow to Feb
Find out which animals come, where, when and what they want. Write the brief and the rules.
Pass: One-page brief with numbered rules, each with a reason. Dad says yes.
G1 Design lockFeb to Mar
Pick how we sense and how we scare. 3D model, parts list, budget, safety check.
Pass: Every part fits in the model, every link is checked, every rule has a test.
G2 OrderMar
One order per store. Check every part in when it arrives.
Pass: Everything on the list is in the bin and matches.
G3 BuildMar to Apr
Small test piece first, then build in batches, each with its own test.
Pass: Each batch passes its test before the next one starts.
G4 Field testApr to May
Count visits on normal nights, then on defended nights.
Pass: Fewer visits, written down night by night, nobody hurt.
G5 ShowMay
Film it and explain it to family and his class.
Pass: Nolan explains every wire and every line.
Rules (draft)
Every rule has a reason. These become locked at G0 when Dad says yes.
R1 Sting, never injure
A sting teaches them our yard is a bad place, the way wildlife officers chase off coyotes with paintballs. No poison, glue, shock, spikes or anything that breaks skin. Poison also hurts pets and the animals that eat a poisoned rat.
R2 Low voltage outside
Water and wall power do not mix. Batteries or USB power only, nothing plugged into the wall near the yard.
R3 It can never aim at a person
Animals are on the ground; faces are not. Mounted high and aiming down, with a software tilt limit checked against the home switch every time it starts. It only fires at a raccoon, opossum or rat, never with a person, cat or dog in the picture, and only when armed.
R4 Follow the wildlife rules
Texas has rules about trapping and moving wild animals. A grown-up checks them before anything that catches an animal.
R5 Explain every wire and line
Same as Dusty: if you cannot explain it, it is not done.
R7 Hits at 20 to 25 feet
That is the distance from where the turret sits to where they come over. It must hit a raccoon and a rat-sized target there, tested on cardboard targets first.
R8 Earn automatic
It fires on its own only after 10 correct manual shots in a row with zero wrong targets. One wrong target starts the count over.
R6 Measure, do not guess
Count visits before we build so we can prove it worked.
Design choices to make
We decide these one at a time during scoping. Each decision goes in the log.
D1 Which animals?
Raccoons, opossums and rats. Rats are a 3 inch target at 25 feet, which is why the aim uses steppers.
D2 Where are they?
Our outdoor cameras already show them coming over. Mark each crossing spot on a map of the yard.
D3 What are they after?
Food, water, shelter. Taking away the reason they come is the first defense.
D4 How does it see?
Raspberry Pi AI camera (no IR filter) plus a separate infrared floodlight. Invisible to the animals, clear at 25 feet.
D5 What does it fire?
Gel Blaster Surge XL: velocity dial 170 to 250 FPS so we set the smallest sting that works, semi-auto for one shot per press, USB-C charging.
D6 What is the brain?
Raspberry Pi 5. The AI camera spots the animal; the Pi aims, serves the phone page and saves a clip of every shot.
D7 Power and housing
Solar panel and battery, so nothing plugs into the house. 3D printed housing in PETG or ASA, which survive Houston sun.
D8 Who pulls the trigger?
Version 1: phone page with live view and a FIRE button. Automatic only by change order (R8).
D9 How does it aim?
Stepper motors from the start, with a home switch. Rats need fine steps; servos are too coarse.
D10 Where is it mounted?
High on the house, 6 to 8 feet up, aiming down, so every shot and every miss lands in our yard.
D11 When is it armed?
Dusk to dawn only, plus a key switch as the master off.
D12 Budget
$800 cap. First estimate $650 to $750 with solar.
D13 How do we prove it?
Count visits on the house cameras: 14 nights before, 14 nights after.
D14 How does it end?
A short film, and Nolan explains it to the family and his class.
D15 Name
Night Watch NW-1. Model-number style, like Dusty MS-2000.