Created by Bahary, Joey, last modified on Feb 21, 2018

Group Members:

1) Joey Bahary: jbahary2

2) Sanchit Vohra: sv4

3) Arnav Jain: arnavj3

Introduction and Problem Statement:

People are becoming increasingly more dependent on automation almost everywhere, and there is a lack of that automation in the detection of groceries. In a world where technology is taking over human tasks, why is there not fix for detecting whether you need more groceries or not? People should be able to know (without looking) what kind of groceries they need to buy more of. A proper use of pressure sensors, placement of items in the fridge, and an app for Android or IOS could alleviate the need to check your fridge.

Block Diagram:

System Overview:


The Automated Grocery system works in two ways. The first part is detecting drinks like milk or juice. We plan on using pressure sensors to detect how much of the bottle is over, so that the system can inform you before the bottle gets over. The second part is detecting small food items like eggs or vegetables. We plan on making an arrangement of LED lights and photoresistors for this. The Photoresistors will be placed under the eggs and the LEDs on top. When the resistor detects light, the resistance would decrease which would entail that no egg is there. We will then use a multiplexer to detect exactly how many eggs are available. These two methods can be implemented for a large number food and drink types. The arduino will then process all this information and then push it to the connected phone. The phone will act as the user-interface and communicate with the user whether any items are running out.

Components:

  • Photoresistors

  • 4:1 Multiplexer

  • Raspberry Pi

  • Resistors

  • Connecting wires

  • Force Sensor

  • Basic Logic Gates

Schedule:

  • Order Parts

  • Make the pressure sensor circuit for milk detection

  • Make the photo-resistor circuit + multiplexer circuit for egg detection

  • Make the phone application

  • Test the project


Possible Challenges 


Making the arduino communicate with phone passively
Making the multiplexer circuit to determine which egg was picked up from the tray

Conclusion

In conclusion, our project will help us automating the most reptitive and common task that almost everyone faces. The mobile phone app will help us create an interface which allows people to know exactly how much of each product is there. 





Comments:

I really like where your project is going. One question, you all mention in the block diagram that when the supply of milk or eggs has run out or is low, there will be a notification or more will be ordered. How do you all plan on doing that? I don't see anything in your parts list that could notify or communicate the information.
Posted by atmarsh3 at Feb 18, 2018 13:27

We talked about this last night and we've come to the conclusion that using a Raspberry pi instead of an Arduino will be a better option to passively communicate with a cell phone. The Raspberry pi can push data into a data base server that the cell phone can then take information from. The Google NoSQL Firebase Data Base Server is a great option as the code for reading and writing into the data base from the Raspberry pi is short and concise.
Posted by sv4 at Feb 18, 2018 18:02

I like how you all are thinking .Something else you all might want to look into as an arduino option is a gsm chip. Some groups have had success in the past. But I think a raspberry pi is still a good option. 
Posted by atmarsh3 at Feb 19, 2018 00:42

You're project definitely seems interesting. Feel free to talk with the machine shop about potentially making a nice presentation platform (i.e. a fake shelf with slits for LEDs and sensors). To continue what Alonzo mentioned, a raspberry pi would probably be better for this since it should simplify the communication with your phone. Project approved.
Posted by chorn4 at Feb 21, 2018 09:44

Nice project idea.  I like the combination of logic and sensors and feel this will be a good level of complexity for the semester with plenty of room for additional elements if you have time!
Posted by mnwilso2 at Feb 21, 2018 23:25