Project Overview
Participating in Make Harvard 2024 with a team of three, I delved into a unique hackathon experience where competitors were tasked with designing projects within Harvard’s new SEC complex, all within the tight timeframe of less than 24 hours. Distinguishing itself from MakeMIT, Make Harvard stands out by omitting a predefined theme, challenging participants to unleash their creativity and tackle problems of their own choosing. Our team embraced this freedom and, after brainstorming, conceptualized an innovative solution: an automatic storage system. The focus of our design was on creating a smart storage system applicable to a variety of small items, with a particular emphasis on spices for the competition. Recognizing a common struggle within our team—disorganized and inconvenient spice cabinets at home while cooking—we aimed to address this issue through our automated storage system. In essence, our project aimed to revolutionize the functionality of spice storage, leveraging technology to enhance organization and accessibility in the kitchen.
Design Overview
The concept for this storage system originated from a vending machine-like idea. The rotation of the shelves is orchestrated by a NEMA-17 stepper motor, featuring a gear that drives a gear belt into motion. This gear belt, in turn, is connected to multiple gears on the bottom shelf. This design facilitates the seamless rotation of shelves, leveraging the gear ratio to apply increased torque effectively.
The shelves themselves were crafted in SolidWorks for precision laser cutting. The system’s frame is constructed from 80/20 aluminum and laser-cut acrylic. The stepper motors find their place on the frame, secured with precision using wood and power tools. The entire motion control system is orchestrated through Arduino programming.
Furthermore, the incorporation of an ESP32 microcontroller elevates the system’s capabilities by facilitating Bluetooth communication with a smartphone through a dedicated app. This innovative feature extends to voice control, enabling users to request a particular spice or item verbally. Upon receiving a voice command, the designated shelf swiftly rotates to present the requested item.
For item returns, the user simply employs voice control to specify the item to be replaced. Subsequently, the shelf seamlessly rotates to the next available spot, streamlining the process of item retrieval and replacement.
Rotation in action
Photo Log
