Ranked Showers

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  Shower DataLogger (hardware shower verifier)

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  Evidence that personal hygiene is an issue (from a UofT professor)

Inspiration

Ranked Showers began as a silly idea based on the trope that computer science students tend not to prioritize good hygiene, however as we began to think about applicability, it turned into a genuine consideration. It would have two main parts: a hardware unit and a connected software system to compute with metrics. While still a somewhat silly project idea, this is a transferable concept that aims to encourage any university/college student to practice good hygiene, as it can quickly become an afterthought when juggling academics, recreation, and personal life. It is a project that gives us the freedom to have fun, be creative and develop a real, tangible and functional product.

What it does

The main purpose of this product is to emphasize the importance to university/college students of prioritizing the development of good hygiene habits. The system consists of two components:

Anti-Cheat Hardware: A 3-component sensor unit that detects human presence, humidity, and audio cues to verify a shower (and the person using it) is actually happening. This prevents sweaty tryhards who cheat the system.

• Humidity tester: Makes sure there is actually water involved. Starts tracking 30 seconds into the shower
• Audio tester: Records audio periodically and sends it to Gemini Flash 2.5 to verify if it is likely a person showering (Alternative implementation: tracks variance of DB to address privacy concerns).
• Ultra Sonic Sensor: Checks the variance of objects in front of the shower head. If the variance is 0, it indicates no one is present.

Blockchain Leaderboard: A decentralized ranking system where being cleaner, healthier and environmentally friendly is better. Performance metrics—including duration, temperature, and environmental efficiency—are processed through a personalized scoring algorithm that is set up by each user through a crypto wallet login.

How we built it

To tackle this project, we split our team in half: two hackers focused on the hardware and two on the software. The hardware unit was built using a Raspberry Pi, an ultrasonic sensor, and an AirPod for audio, all housed in a custom 3D printed casing to prevent water damage.

We built a backend that identifies shower audio using Gemini Flash 2.5. The backend also processed the user wallet data and the shower session data to MongoDB. To bring it all together, we integrated Solana wallet modules. Instead of minting coins for every shower, our system pulls data from MongoDB and syncs it to the Solana blockchain every night. This allows us to verify daily activity, edit records if needed, and securely distribute "bonus coins" to the leaderboard while saving on gas fees. As Solana is multi-threaded, this process can be done efficiently while having the blockchain security features.

Challenges we ran into

We faced plenty of roadblocks developing Ranked Showers, but each one led to a functional solution. Our biggest hurdles were the backend implementation, hardware design, and Next.js debugging. On the backend, we had to build an API to distinguish shower audio, manage Solana user rewards, and process all the data once it was received from the sensors. These technical implementations took longer than expected and posed several issues, but they ultimately powered our final solution.

Designing the hardware was also a challenge; we had to determine which factors actually verified a shower while working with limited materials. Finally, the Next.js web app required significant frontend debugging—at one point, we had to work around version errors and an accidental 10k git repo change caused by the initial setup. Despite these setbacks, we managed to find a working strategy for both the physical and digital components.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Despite the challenges, we successfully built a tangible, functional hardware component and an intricate software interface. Overcoming the Solana user metric integration was a major milestone; it was a pivotal step that determined whether we would have a fully connected system or just a collection of parts. We take immense pride in surviving these make-or-break technical moments while keeping the energy high and having fun. Ultimately, our most impressive feat was getting two ambitious, independent systems—hardware and blockchain—to work together as one interconnected product.

What we learned

This project was a lesson in managing the "ebb and flow" of rapid development. We learned the importance of maintaining a steady pace and a strict priority list to ensure we stayed on schedule. A major takeaway was the necessity of effective time management—specifically, recognizing what is achievable under tight constraints. We learned that while having confidence in the vision is vital, keeping an open mind to pivot or simplify features is what actually gets a project across the finish line.

What's next for Ranked Showers

Features Use more research and datasets to optimize the "optimal shower time" for better reward systems. Maybe considerations related to cold showers and diseases. Hardware Currently, we use a single AirPod to collect audio data due to time and hardware constraints. Our next step is to hardwire a dedicated microphone directly into the hardware unit to simplify the system architecture. We also plan to refine the enclosure design to improve water resistance and durability, ensuring a steady audio stream and a longer lifespan for the device in high-moisture environments.

A short we made for the product: https://youtu.be/PnJ6CRvFYIU

Built With

• fastapi
• javascript
• mangodb
• python
• solana
• typescript