DISCLAIMER: This project is based on an idea. This is by no means a working prototype at its current state. Based on my findings and skill development I may or may not transform this design idea into a working prototype/guide where u guys and girls are capable of following along or building it themselves.
IDEA/CONCEPT: This is my vision of the perfect IoT smart mailbox, please keep in mind that this design idea is based on my personal needs and may or may not work/be needed for everyone out there. Before I explain what this vision is and why I think it is worth investing time and money in it, I should like to share a list of features that The Smart Mailbox will have with u guys.
The Minimum:
- Users should receive a notification whenever the mailman delivers a mail or package.
- Users should receive a notification whenever someone opens the mail part of the mailbox, so you know when the mailbox has been emptied. If possible this notification should include a picture.
- Users should receive a notification when the mailbox is nearly or completely full.
The Ideal World:
- Users should be able to identify the mailman and his company.
- Whenever the mailman delivers a mail or package it should be scanned, and a picture of that delivery should be sent to the user.
- Users should be notified whenever they missed a package.
Note: All notifications should share some standard information as Date & Time of delivery & a percentage based on how full the mailbox is.
Now you may be asking yourself, why the F*** do I need all of this information, and where do I get the notifications? Well in the ideal world the notifications should be simple SMS messages. But to be honest, they could be sent to any messaging platform like Telegram or Slack. Please keep in mind that this IoT service will NOT have its own application or dashboard. Ok, now for the interesting part, why do I need all of this information? The reason I want to know whether the mailbox is full or not is mostly for when I am gon for a few days or for when I am on vacation. Normally someone will check the mailbox every X days. But by using The Smart Mailbox they will know exactly when they should empty the mailbox. The reason I want to know with delivery company made a certain delivery is because I buy an abnormal amount of stuff online, the second I know the delivery company I can make a guess on with package or mail just got delivered. This exact reason also applies to why I want a scanned picture of the mail or package, I just want to know what it is and what I can expect. I want to know when someone empties the mailbox for obvious reasons, I want to know whether I need to empty my mailbox when I get back home or if someone else already has emptied it for me.
All of this information and features are combined together into one big packaged. With The Smart Mailbox, users will always know everything about there own mail. This IoT service resolves multiple personal problems but the biggest one is that I won't need to refresh my track and trace website every 5 seconds, I will always be updated with the latest information in a very helpful and distract less way.
WHAT WILL WE NEED:
Hardware:
- NodeMCU || Arduino
- Mailbox || Cardboard Boxes (Prototype only.)
Software:
- Arduino IDE
- Adafruit
Sensors & Others:
- Led's (For feedback during the prototype process.)
- LDR's (Could be used to gather information about the mailbox, but keep in mind that they won't have the desired results in dark environments.)
- Ultrasonic Sensor's (Like the LDR this sensor could be used to determinate whether the mailbox has been opened or not. This could and should provide better results than the LDR and will always work.)
- Tilt Sensor (Like the previous 2, this sensor can be used to calculate whether the mailbox has been opened or not.)
- Pressure sensor (Again, this sensor could be used to determinate whether the mailbox has been opened or not. It is all up to you and in theory, you will need 2. Keep in mind that you can make your own pressure sensor's without much effort.)
Note: Please keep in mind that the requirements listed above are not the ones needed for the ideal scenario but rather the minimum requirements. You can make this project as complicated as you want but not simpler this.
I hope that you guys and girls enjoyed this small reading and that I somehow had the opportunity to inspire some of you, whether by giving new ideas about new projects or this project itself.
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