PostBuddy

• 

  the electronics for the PostBuddy

• 

  postbox with PostBuddy

Inspiration

There have been countless situations where I was waiting for an important mail. I would check every day only to walk back with disappointment.

What it does

The PostBuddy will alert the user of any mail received in any location 70m away from the postbox. The alert display can be conveniently be placed in your room.

How we built it

We used an Arduino and two micro bits. Also built the housing in Solidworks.

Challenges we ran into

We couldn't build it in real life due to the lack of hardware. Therefore, we had to resort to simulations like tinker cad. We wanted to use a wifi module but tinker cad didn't support any. It didn't also have any Bluetooth modules. Fortunately, they did have micro bits that have long-range Bluetooth functionality.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

This is the first time we built anything with Arduino and my team and I are quite proud of what we were able to accomplish in such a small time frame.

What we learned

We learned how to use Arduinos, micro bits, ultrasonic sensors, Bluetooth communication and the programming that goes with it. We also realized that it is not easy to do from ideation to reality and that we had many obstacles to overcome.

What's next for PostBuddy

We plan on adding to the module in the post box the ability to auto-adjust to the mailbox without the need for user input for the depth of the mailbox. We also plan on using a Wifi Module once we get our hands on one so that a message can be sent to your phone that you have received mail making it even more convenient.

Built With

• solidworks
• tinkercad