The Heightometer

A contact free solution to measure your height

The Heightometer is an idea I thought of amidst the outbreak to the Covid 19. I attempted to develop a device that can measure your height in a very effortless manner and also at the same time be contact-free, with almost zero human intervention. Each succeeding version overcame the flaws of the previous version. This project also has the status of Patent pending.

Version 1 (2020)

It was built to fit inside a plastic box. The display used, was a sixteen-by-two LCD. The box had a switch to switch on the device. It had to be placed at exactly 180 cm from the ground. On standing under it the device would display your height. The main focus wasn't the looks but the functionality. The most important aspect of this design was its simplicity.

Version 2 (2021)

The main change in this version was the additional button to the top to set the distance, instead of placing it 180 cm above the ground. The user could now mount the device anywhere on the wall. After which, they would then have to press the button, which would automatically measure the distance variable. It was also designed to be more compact and lightweight. This is because the bulky LCD was replaced with an OLED display. Another major improvement was, that it was powered with a Lithium battery and didn't need a power outlet at all times. The body was made from more sturdy sheet metal.

Version 3

V3.0- In this version, the device is made from PLA, which improves the overall finish of the product. The button was removed in this version as it was the known cause for the high error in the V2. The device was now powered using three AA batteries which made it more handy. The mechanism for mounting it on the wall was also made more user-friendly. A custom PCB was designed for this version.

V3.1- EEPROM is used in this version to store the distance variable and certain structural features were added to improve accuracy.