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By Juan Jimenez, Anika Kamath, and J.T. Herrscher | ME 218A: Smart Product Design Fundamentals
The Problem - Ed's Grand Edventure
Before too long, our fearless leader Ed will be heading out to explore the unknown, a tale that is sure to be filled with excitement and danger. But before Ed heads out in his motor home, he needs to equip it with a host of smart features to keep a bit of his 218 home with him on the road. What portable smart product can we build to help Ed semi-automate his life on the highway?
Our Approach - Ed's Composter!
Our Approach - Ed's Composter!
More than 50% of typical municipal garbage set out at the curb is compostable. This fills landfills and wastes the valuable organic material held within food scraps and everyday waste. Ed's composter is a smart solution to reduce waste and keep Ed's plant friends happy on his Grand Edventure! #vanlife
Ed's composter makes composting easy. It automates the aeration and emptying processes, so all you have to do is put in your scraps and go. It also quizzes you on compostable items, keeping you in the loop on what you should and should not be putting in your composter.
Functionality
Functionality
The first step of composting any item is putting it in the composter. Just open the lid and plop it in!
Once all of your items are in the composter, you can start the process! The start button will trigger the aeration paddle to begin mixing the contents. The speed of aeration is adjustable via a potentiometer on the front of the composter.
The start buton will also begin a trivia game which scrolls across the display on the front of the composter. Buttons to answer for compostable and non-compostable items sit next to the start button. Feedback for correct and incorrect answers come via the display and through the connected pair of headphones.
After the trivia game is over, the composter can be emptied by putting something like a hand through the hole in the front of the composter, triggering a break beam sensor. This causes the floor of the composter to slide backwards, allowing the compost to fall into the area below.
See it in action!
See it in action!
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