where is my stuff

Splash
IoT Lab
Process
Visualization
The App

IoT for the lab

powered by a small modular device integrated in your lab equipment

controlled by your smartphone

for formated overview see: link

Inspiration

When more than five people work in a lab, logistics get complicated: things are moved, labels are smudged, chaos ensues.

Our vision

Our vision is to enable all lab tools and machines to communicate with the users and between themselves. Now we are using a smart modular device that enables communication with your lab tools. We will also connect different devices and implement different kinds of responses according to the user needs.

What it does

Our smart device tackles the questions that everyone has:

Where is my stuff?
Who is using the things I need?
Am I touching something dangerous?
Can something be discarded safely?

We provide a modular cap for everyday uses that can be easily attached to all labware currently in use and tracks their position, matches them to projects and provides necessary information on the contents.

Our cap is available for all standard sizes of labware and connects to the smartphone or web application via wifi. It responds to the requests using a simple color coded LED signal that is easily understood and can be programmed individually, if necessary.

The smartphone app provides an easy and intuitive access to all the functions – using handy buttons and soon even speech recognition.

Information on the content or assigned project can also be accessed by tapping the device itself. Registration of new caps is achieved by scanning the QR code of individual caps and assigning them to a user or project. Additional information, such as safety notes and expiration dates can be added without further ado.

How we built it

Makerspace: Lasercutter, Soldering Iron
Hardware: Wifi Module, LED strip
Software: CAD, Arduino IDE
Languages: C, Javascript, (node.js, express, socket.io), HTML/CSS

Challenges we ran into

Configuring the wifi module
Getting enough power
Running the LED via an app

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Our team met during the Techfest and started working on the idea of a communication tool for labware on September, 9th, 2016.

Oleg is studying business IT for his Master’s in Berlin and has a strong background in UX. Lukas is studying Informatics in Munich with a focus on robotic. Alina is a process engineer for pharmaceutical production with experience of all the real-life problems in the lab.

During the last two days we built a functioning app that controls our smart device via wifi! Adding more functionality is now a piece of cake. The app controls a smart bottle cap, enabling people to find their labware. LED strip starts blinking after clicking “Light up!”. The device is controlled via wifi.