Overview
Oven Oops is an Arduino-powered device that monitors how long the oven has been left on and alerts the user before it becomes a problem. It started from a real, everyday frustration and grew into a fully functional microcontroller system with a countdown timer, animated LED status gauge, remote control input, and a screen that communicates clearly.
The Prompt
Identify a personal "pet peeve," analyze the real-world conditions around it, and develop a physical solution supported by microcontroller technology.
The Problem
The project began with a simple but serious problem: my roommate frequently left the oven on without realizing it. A forgotten oven is not just an inconvenience but a safety hazard and an energy waste. Existing kitchen timers don't solve it because they aren't attached to the oven itself.
I wanted a device that was: easy to understand, impossible to ignore, and helpful without being annoying. This guided every design decision moving forward.
Semester Timeline
Iteration 1 — Proof of Concept
Before beginning the final device, I spent five weeks building foundational skills and ended Iteration 1 with a functional, ugly-but-effective prototype that proved the core concept: users could start a cook timer and receive an alert when the time was up.
Goals
- Get timing logic working reliably
- Establish a minimal viable version of the concept
- Understand how to communicate alerts effectively
Features
- Multiple physical push buttons — set time, start, reset, more time, less time, etc
- Basic countdown timer — 4-digit segment display
- LED + buzzer alert — triggered when time expires
Challenges
- Creating functional spring-loaded buttons from scratch
- Understanding and debugging Arduino code logic
- Calibrating alerts to be noticeable without being obnoxious
Circuit
Enclosure
Demo
Iteration 2 — Full Device
With the concept proven, I rebuilt the device from scratch with a significantly expanded feature set. Each addition was chosen to address a specific usability gap identified in Iteration 1: unclear status, limited range, and the need to physically touch the device while cooking.
New Features & Why
- IR remote control — No physical interaction with a hot oven; greater flexibility in setting or resetting the timer from anywhere in the kitchen
- OLED/LCD screen with written alerts — Clear, readable communication ("Remainnig Time: __", "Time's Up!") with status changes based on user input
- Animated NeoPixel gauge — Ambient, across-the-room visibility; heat color progression (blue → red) as a fun, expressive status indicator
- Cleaner timer logic & more intuitive interactions — Improved reliability and user-friendly messaging throughout
Circuit Build
Enclosure & Assembly
In Use
Demo Videos
Final Product
Reflection
A fully functioning Arduino device that helps prevent accidental oven misuse that is user-friendly, visible from across the room, and solving the original pet peeve in a way that's actually fun to use. The device moves seamlessly between multiple input and output systems and represents a major leap in technical capability from where I started.
The project was both challenging and incredibly rewarding. While the final device may not be as visually refined as I hoped due to so much time spent on electrical optimization, and my fabrication education was still early at this point, but the underlying engineering is something I'm genuinely proud of.
It taught me thoughtful interaction design, how to accept imperfections as part of the process, and how to build with real-world considerations in mind. And perhaps most importantly: I learned how to build functional microcontroller systems from scratch.