Project
| # | Title | Team Members | TA | Documents | Sponsor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 | Automated Tea Maker |
Kyle Humphries Milan Patel Tanmay Mittal |
Chi Zhang | design_document1.pdf proposal1.pdf proposal2.pdf |
|
| # Automatic Tea Maker ## Team Members: -Tanmay Mittal (tmitta3) -Kyle Humphries (kylebh2) -Milan Patel (milanhp2) ## Problem Preparing tea can be a tedious process that requires knowing how to balance the right amount of tea leaves and monitoring steeping times. Measuring specific amounts of leaves requires tea drinkers to pack ingredients into a mesh/metal infuser. They have to wait, depending on how strong they want the final drink to be, which can be an additional inconvenience. New drinkers can have a hard time knowing what types of tea to mix and knowing how long to steep them for. The current process for preparing tea from loose leaves is very hands-on but can be automated. ## Solution Our proposed solution is to introduce a device that is capable of storing a variety of dry leaves and dispensing them depending on the drink the user wishes to make. This blend would be loaded into some sort of mesh chamber that lies above a space where a hot cup/mug of liquid will be placed. A motorized subsystem would then lower the mesh chamber into the cup and steep the blend for some amount of time. Once complete, it would raise back up, allowing the user to take their cup. Finally, it would dispose of the wet tea leaves by dropping them into a waste compartment. Our microcontroller will be responsible for controlling motors and measuring out specific amounts of leaves as well as dispensing them into the mesh chamber. An application component would allow users to select blends, control steep times, and get notified when the drink was prepared. # Solution Components # Steeping Subsystem The purpose of this subsystem is to steep the tea leaves in the water for a specified amount of time so that we can make tea in various strengths and flavors. The subsystem will steep a measured amount of tea leaves to ensure consistent flavor across multiple uses. We want to have a retractable system that can lower into a cup of water and retract after about 2-3 minutes depending on the strength of the tea desired. Load up the spoon with the specified amount of tea leaves automatically as well as discard the tea leaves after use. Also, have a motor to press a lever to compress the tea and leaves in the spoon when they are in the water to prepare the tea ## Storage and Dispensing Subsystem This subsystem will need to store the dry tea leaves in separate compartments and leverage weight sensors to dispense specific amounts. The backside of this component can be clear to allow users to see when specific ingredients are running low or spoiling. The dispensing requires a valve that will open/close depending on what step of the process we are in. ## Sensors We will require a weight measuring sensor to measure the weight of the specified type of tea to be able to accurately ensure tea strength across multiple uses. We will also require a timer sensor that can keep track of the time the steeping spoon has been steeping in the water to ensure consistent batches. ## Control and Communication The microcontroller will be responsible for controlling multiple aspects of this device. We will use the ESP32-S3-WROOM for its wi-fi/Bluetooth capabilities. This will communicate with the sensors that will help measure specific amounts of leaves. The motors that control the valves that dispense the blend of dry leaves will need to be controlled by the MCU as well. Finally, the subsystem responsible for steeping the recipe will have motors involved as well as a timing component. The microcontroller will need to be able to process data from the sensors and relay the correct commands to different subsystems. The application component will need to be to communicate with it as well. ## Mobile Application This subsystem will be responsible for providing users with a friendly interface. Through a lightweight application, users can have access to preset blends that they can select. They can also create their own. Steeping times can be selected as well. Once a user wishes to dispense and steep a recipe, they can use the application to communicate wirelessly with the microcontroller to begin the process. Once the process is complete, we can notify users through the app. Additional features we could add include a live countdown of how long is left until their drink is ready and saving specific blends. ## Power Provide power for all the motors and sensors for at least 10 minutes so the tea process can be set up, made, and reset. A 12V battery would be used to supply the power due to all the motors being smaller. The battery will be either rechargeable or have a compartment for the battery to be easily switched out. To fix the inconsistent power of batteries we would add a voltage regulator circuit. # Criterion For Success: -Fully Automated Steeping Process: A working system to lower the ingredients into the water and remove them once the tea is at the desired strength. -Measuring: An accurate way to control/measure the ingredients being put into the steeping system. Be able to take the user set input of the amount of ingredients and correctly disperse the set amount -An interactive interface: The consumer can input the amount, time duration, and emergency stop/hold. All information should be clearly displayed and easy to use. Notification to show that the process is done or any errors that have occurred. -Longevity: The overall system should be able to handle high temperatures since they will be operating around a cup of boiling water. The device should be able to handle water due to working near it and for cleaning purposes. |
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