Team Members
Jason Vasko (jrvasko2), Jay Lee (yuchieh5), Victor Lu (vclu2)
Statement of Purpose
COVID-19 has significantly impacted the economic system of the world. Lots of physical stores have shut down in order to prevent the spread of the virus. As such, methods of minimizing contact while still allowing customers to purchase the goods they need and love have become essential. We are fans of boba tea; two of our team members are from Taiwan, so boba tea plays a big role in our daily lives. Therefore, we have decided to design a boba tea vending machine so that we can get delicious drinks and avoid the virus and minimize physical interaction at the same time. To achieve this goal, we will create a prototype vending machine that can make drinks on demand without any physical contact with the user.
Users can decide between boba milk tea or black tea using an app, so that they don’t have to physically touch anything to order a drink. After ordering their drinks, customers can put their own cup under the dispenser, and it will detect if there is a cup in the given place and then fill the drinks they want into their cups. Not only do we achieve the goal of a physical contactless device, but we also reduce trash by asking the customers to use their own cups.
Background Research
Economic analysis suggests that the bubble tea market is poised for significant growth post-COVID, but COVID concerns remain a significant threat to sales. Indeed, studies suggest that demand for bubble tea will continue to rise with the advent of new unusual flavors and wider awareness of the health benefits of tea as opposed to more traditional drinks like sodas. However, awareness of the dangers of COVID have led to decreased demand for the beverage. As such, designing solutions to problems posed by COVID is essential to the recovery of the bubble tea market. Indeed, COVID concerns have unearthed a high demand for touchless solutions in establishments from restaurants to grocery stores, so a touchless alternative to traditional bubble tea establishments serves to offer customers what they want and solve the problem of COVID transmission through contact with vending machines simultaneously.
Block Diagram / Flow Chart
System Overview
Users can order their drink from a phone app. They can choose what kind of drink (in our project, they can choose milktea, boba milktea, and black tea). Users are also able to choose the ratio of milk in their milk tea. Finishing their orders, users can put their cup below the drink dispenser. The speaker will beep after receiving the order and then sense if the cup is in the correct place. If it is, the machine will start to fill milk, tea, and boba and then beep after making the drink.
Parts
Name | Model | Quantity | Function | Price and where to get from |
Arduino and Breadboard | Arduino UNO | 1 | To control the whole system | From the Arduino Official Store (23.00$) |
Submersible motors | 1528-4546-ND (Adafruit Industries LLC) | 2 | To suck and dispense black tea and milk | $2.95 each |
SG Servomotors (for bobas) | 1528-1075-ND (Adafruit Industries LLC) | 1 | To dispense bobas | 12$ each |
Speaker | M2850-8B-0L03R | 1 | To indicate that an input was registered. | ECE supply center (2.65$) |
LEDs | 3 | To show what process the machine is in. | Already have them in our lab kit | |
Stand for the drinks | 1 | To prop the pipes and drinks | N/A | |
Cardboard | 1 | Show instructions to users | Find from garage rooms | |
| Bluetooth module | 1 | To receive controls from phone | Walmart (7.49$) | |
| Infrared Sensor | 1 | To detect if the cup is in the given place |
Possible Challenges
Designing the position of the pipes and the container is difficult because we have to make them as close as possible so that we can put milk, tea, and boba into the cup without moving the cup. In addition, we also need to make the structure more stable so that the pipes and the container of the boba won’t fall off, but since we also have to make them as close as possible, it is difficult to arrange their positions.
Programming Arduino and iPhone app is also another challenge for us. Although we have prior experience with programming, we are not familiar with syntax, functions, and usages in Arduino and iPhone app programing. Therefore, we have to learn it and we believe it will take some time to acquire enough knowledge to finish our project.
References
Prnewswire.com. 2022. Bubble Tea Market Demand to Surge with Rising Popularity of Unconventional Flavors at 8.8% CAGR through 2031: FMI. [online] Available at: <https://www.prnewswire.com/ae/news-releases/bubble-tea-market-demand-to-surge-with-rising-popularity-of-unconventional-flavors-at-8-8-cagr-through-2031-fmi-877861468.html> [Accessed 14 February 2022].
Reportlinker.com. 2022. 2021 Bubble Tea Market Outlook and Opportunities in the Post COVID recovery- What’s next for companies, demand, Bubble Tea market size, strategies, and countries to 2028. [online] Available at: <https://www.reportlinker.com/p06107820/Bubble-Tea-Market-Outlook-and-Opportunities-in-the-Post-COVID-recovery-What-s-next-for-companies-demand-Bubble-Tea-market-size-strategies-and-countries-to.html> [Accessed 14 February 2022].
Restaurant Business. 2022. Customers Demand Touchless Experiences. [online] Available at: <https://www.restaurantbusinessonline.com/technology/customers-demand-touchless-experiences> [Accessed 14 February 2022].
"Bubble Tea Market: COVID-19 Impact Analysis and Forecast Growth, 2021 to 2028", Researchdive.com, 2022. [Online]. Available: https://www.researchdive.com/press-release/bubble-tea-market.html. [Accessed: 14- Feb- 2022].
Posted by elihf2 at Feb 24, 2022 18:21