Inspiration
We were tired of the age-old roommate standoff: Who’s going to take out the trash? Rather than continuing to lose that battle (and our sense of smell), we decided to build a smart trash bin monitor that keeps everyone accountable—and lets the bin do the talking.
What it does
TrashTalk is a smart module that attaches to any trash bin and monitors two key things:
Trash Level – using an ultrasonic sensor to detect when the bin is full.
Last Emptied Time – using a tilt sensor to track when the bin is opened wide, signaling a likely emptying event.
The system sends this data to the cloud, so users can check bin status from a mobile app and receive notifications when it’s time to take out the trash. Great for homes, dorms, or even public spaces.
How we built it
We used the following hardware and tools:
Arduino UNO R4 microcontroller
Ultrasonic sensor mounted inside the lid to measure fill level
Tilt sensor mounted near the hinge to detect lid movement
IoT platform (like Blynk or ThingSpeak) to send data to the cloud
A mock trash bin made from a cereal box for our prototype
Data is processed onboard and pushed to the cloud, where it's visualized and made accessible via a mobile app interface.
Challenges we ran into
TBD
Accomplishments that we're proud of
TBD
What we learned
TBD
What's next for Project TrashTalk
The Moon....
Log in or sign up for Devpost to join the conversation.