Trashketball

Inspiration

Back when we were 10, and took out the trash, it was very boring. We thought, "How should we GAMIFY this." Therefore, we came together and built our childhood dreams. Psychology states that when you combine fun with other tasks, you become more inclined to do that task. So why not be more inclined to keep the environment clean? So instead of asking why we ball, and just ball...trashketball! Trashketball is the culminated experience of our desire to both keep the environment clean and develop healthy habits by gamifying our mundane daily task. We choose to apply our expertise to something that can be realistically used in the real world.

What Trashketball does

Trashketball is an interactive setup that encourages, records, and congratulates you when you throw away your trash instead of littering or leaving your space cluttered. When it detects an item, the Trashketball activates the backboard LEDs and illuminates & flashes the display with a rewarding message. The score counter is then updated, so you can keep track of how much you've helped the environment. When idle, the RGB rim continues glowing to remind you to toss! It is a versatile product that can be used on all of your favorite bins, including trash, recycling, or compost.

How we built Trashketball

Trashketball uses many different materials for its physical and electrical setup. The rim of the hoop is made using a 1-meter RGB LED strip. The backboard display consists of an OLED and a NeoPixel LED ring. Discarded objects are detected by two proximity sensors. There is also a 2-digit 7-segment display which maintains and updates the score. The backboard, which holds the majority of the electronic brains, is cut from wood. The brains are made up of 4 Arduino Nanos, each of which has its own function. The Arduinos communicate with the peripheral components and with one another in order to synchronize the entire Trashketball setup!

Challenges we ran into

One of the main difficulties we had was calibrating the distance sensors. Often they would either be too sensitive or not sensitive enough. Striking a balance between the two was the main issue we faced after assembling all of the other components. Additionally, with using so many microcontrollers and components, at the same time, we had some difficulty syncing up all of the wiring.