Detergent Management System

By Chun Hang, LEUNG | Hon Kwan, YUEN | Sicheng, FAN

Hong Kong is a busy city and everyone here is busy in living. People may not aware that their detergents are running out and it may be too late when they find it out. This project is to develop a detergent management system to help people solving this problem.

The idea is simple: We use force sensing resistors (FSRs) to measure the weight of detergents and the readings are received by an Arduino MKR1000 microcotnroller. The microcontroller sends the readings to a server and the server updates the information in a mobile app and post notifications if any. The outlook and the block diagram of the hardware part of the system are shown in Fig. 2.1 and Fig. 2.2 respectively. The block diagram of the whole system is shown in Fig. 2.3 and the program flows of the microcontroller and the server are shown in Fig. 2.4.

Figure 2.1 The outlook of the hardware part of the system

Figure 2.2: The block diagram of the hardware part of the system

Figure 2.3: The block diagram of the system with an online server and a mobile app

Figure 2.4: The flow diagram

This application can be used in hotels and lodges to provide a better room service with less manpower. Detergents will be reloaded just before they are running out. It can also be used for someone living alone. It provides a better house management. Moreover, it can also be applied for toilets in malls, plazas and public area for monitoring and refilling detergents.

A demonstration video is shown below.

Comment from judges: The team builds a complete system for demonstration and it is good to have the circuit built on a PCB, especially they are Year 2 students only. The system can get a better result if they can use different calibration methods to make a more accurate measurement.