EcoBin: A Solar-Powered Deodorizing and Self-Cleaning Trash Bin with Rainwater Collection using AI and IoT System

The Project

This project combines a closed-loop automated sustainability system, which combines rainwater harvesting, smart sanitation automation, and cloud telemetry on a single platform. Rather than treating water collection, waste management, and monitoring as distinct functions, the system combines them across three core elements. The Rainwater Subsystem is where rainwater is collected in a dark 50-96-gallon barrel to minimize algae growth. Water level is monitored using a VL53L4CD time-of-flight sensor, and water clarity is monitored using an analog turbidity sensor using an ESP32-S3 microcontroller, all powered by a small solar panel and battery. The EcoBin Subsystem is powered by an RP2040 microcontroller that controls the mechanical cleaning operations. When turned on, an AC-powered high-pressure pump draws rainwater stored in a winch-driven vertical rope with a three-arm rotating nozzle to scrub the inside of a standard bin. The Mobile Monitoring App (RainSense), which we developed in Flutter with Dart in Android Studio, provides a real-time dashboard for the monitoring of the system. It uses Firebase Authentication for secure authentication and password recovery, with users registering their device with a unique hardware ID and a custom nickname. Live sensor data streams from Firebase Realtime Database for remote system visibility, water level (cm), and turbidity (NTU). This project was heavily inspired by noticing the gaps in the existing infrastructure and smart home systems. Traditional rain barrels are passive devices that collect water, and smart bin solutions tend to focus on fill-level detection, leaving sanitation issues such as bacteria and odor unaddressed. This project aims to combine utility, sanitation, and accessible environmental data into one system with a user-friendly interface, promoting sustainable water reuse and better household hygiene, fostering a more sustainable and green future. The major challenges were matching the microsecond-level firmware timestamps of the sensors with Flutter's millisecond-based system, which was needed to make precise real-time updates possible. Another big problem was implementing secure device ownership in Firebase. This was a multi-step verification system to ensure that one hardware device can only be registered to one user at a time. The 5V sensor and 3.3V microcontroller logic in the Rainbarrel monitoring system required voltage conversion, and the mechanical winch system required custom 3D-printed guide structures to avoid jamming during operation.

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