We are BabyFoodControl, a team of students from Esslingen University specializing in Business Informatics and Technical Informatics. In today's fast-paced world, where flexibility and multitasking are crucial, our innovative cup holder helps parents and caregivers ensure their babies are never given expired milk.
Project IdeaThe concept is simple yet crucial: an intelligent cup holder that monitors the shelf life of milk based on its temperature and visually displays the status. The goal is to ensure milk stays within the optimal temperature range, preserving its quality and safety for babies.
Why is it Important?Milk is highly sensitive to temperature fluctuations. If milk is exposed to excessively high or low temperatures, its nutritional value may be compromised, or worse, it could become a health risk for babies. Our product helps avoid this problem by continuously monitoring the milk's temperature and status.
First Step & SetupWe began by developing the project on a microcontroller board. For this, we used:
- 1 x Particle Photon 2 microcontroller
- 1 x SHT3X temperature sensor
- 3 x LEDs (green, orange, red)
- 1 x 100-ohm resistor
- 1 x push button
- Jumper wires for connections
The Particle Photon 2 code was developed iteratively, optimized through research, and refined based on clinical studies.
The prototype is designed to be incredibly user-friendly. Users simply place the baby bottle inside the cup holder, and the device handles the rest. The LED indicators provide a clear visual cue about the milk’s condition: green means the milk is still good, while red signals that it has expired. A blinking LED indicates that the milk's temperature is out of the safe range.
Our cup holder continuously measures the temperature of the milk using the Sensirion SHT31/SHT3X sensor. The cup holder features three LEDs (green, orange, red) that display the status of the milk. To activate the cup holder, the baby bottle must be placed inside, pressing the button through the bottle's weight. As long as the button remains pressed, the cup holder remains active. Once the bottle is removed, the cup holder powers off.
IMPORTANT: OUR PRODUCT IS NOT INTENDED TO RESTORE MILK THAT HAS ALREADY BEEN STORED.
Architecture OverviewThe Particle Photon 2 microcontroller updates the LED status, temperature, and expiration time every second, sending this data to the Particle Cloud API. The information is then received and displayed in the web app, which requires only an internet connection to function.
The web app's user interface was created using HTML with a focus on simplicity and clarity. The app retrieves real-time data (status, temperature, and expiration time) from the Particle Cloud API and presents it in an easy-to-understand format.
Our product includes five distinct LED states, which are also shown in the web app:
- OFF: No bottle placed in the cup holder, LEDs are off.
- Green: Milk is fresh, and more than 25% of its expiration time remains.
- Orange: Milk is nearing expiration, with less than 25% of the expiration time remaining.
- Red: Milk has expired, with 0% of the expiration time left.
- Blinking: If the temperature goes outside the safe range (4°C to 25°C), the LED blinks to indicate an out-of-range status. The temperature display in the web app will also turn red.
The expiration time is calculated in real-time based on the measured temperature. The shelf life of milk is directly affected by its temperature: colder milk lasts longer, while higher temperatures accelerate expiration. To calculate the expiration time, an exponential decay formula was used, as it best represents the chemical breakdown process in milk. Here is the correct formula:
To demonstrate the functionality, we used the following formula to calculate the expiration time of milk in hours (H) based on its temperature (T).
For questions or further information, feel free to reach out to us:
- Orhan Akgün - orhan.akguen@hotmail.com
- Özgür Ünlü
- Mohamed Abdullatif
- Alperen Akkurt
- Azad Ahmad
We look forward to hearing from you!
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