Hail to the Orange - Zesty Pesty

Inspiration

The inspiration for Zesty Pesty came from how we always had scraps of orange whenever we ate oranges and didn't want to throw them away because they smell amazing. We decided to make it into a diffuser because it would use the entire orange and fill our rooms with a pleasing aroma.

What it does

We made an oil diffuser that uses scraps, like orange peels or herbs. It reuses what would be waste and turns it into something that can be enjoyed for prolonged periods.

How we built it

We designed the hardware in Fusion360 and designed the breadboard using Arduino. We wrote the code in C and in the Arduino IDE and also used MATLAB to run tests that could be used for feasibility checks. We used GitHub to share code, schematics, drawings, and even CAD parts!

Challenges we ran into

Understanding how diffusers worked was one of the challenges we ran into. Initially, we thought it had a heating element, but it uses an ultrasonic vibrator to create the vapor, so we scrapped some work, such as MATLAB thermodynamic simulations. Incorporating the vibrating motor into our design was challenging as we had never used one before. We also struggled with figuring out how to mesh the grinder and diffuser parts.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We are proud of the fact that we designed an entire one-of-a-kind hardware project. We are also proud of the fact that we made it user-friendly and accessible so a wider range of people can enjoy it by considering how.

What we learned

We learned how to use an Arduino for the project itself, GitHub to track progress, and MATLAB to test Zesty Pesty in the future. We also learned about different resources, such as domain.com and Twilio. Additionally, we thought about how this could be prototyped, made, and used, learning about different components in the process.