EZ Dine

Inspiration

We wanted to make dining easier during COVID-19. It is important to maintain sanitized tables in dining areas during these times in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19. However, if you live at a residence with strangers and must share dining areas with them, or at a server-less restaurant, it is hard to keep track of what tables have been used. This is why we thought of EZ Dine.

What it does

With EZ Dine, tables are automatically cleaned after each use.

How we built it

We used an Arduino IDE, a photoresistor, and LCD display in order to build EZ Dine. The LCD displays the status of the table. The photoresistor senses if someone is sitting at the table. While someone is sitting there, or has their items on the table, the LCD will display "Please Sit", indicated that the table is free to use or is currently in use. After the person leaves, and the table is being wiped, then it displays "Do Not Sit" "Sanitizing". After it is done wiping, the LCD will display "Please sit".

Challenges we ran into

We had several challenges. We initially wanted to disinfect the table using a disinfecting spray, but we were unable to get the Servos to press down on the spray nozzle hard enough, since it was a small Servos with limited force. However, it was the only Servos that we had, so we had to make do with it. Then, we decided to make a wiping mechanism with it, and attached wooden sticks to it in order to increase its range of motion. We also had some trouble wiring up the LCD, as it was our first time using it. After troubleshooting with the Arduino manual, we were able to make it work. In addition, we experienced issues with the photoresistor activating when we did not want it to.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We are proud of being able to finish within the allotted time, as we spent quite a while trying to get the spray nozzle to work and learning how to use the LCD.

What we learned

We learned how to manage PWM signals in order to control a servo and how to properly wire up the LCD.

What's next for EZ Dine

A better wiping mechanism after we either acquire a stronger Servos or use multiple Servos, trying to get a spraying mechanism added in, and use of an IR sensor instead of a photoresistor to better sense if an object is there.