About the ProjectWhen on a road trip, the vehicle is not the only one who needs fuel. Steady access to food is essential, but finding grocery stores or restaurants on the open road can be challenging. What's more, having to stop driving to eat can interfere with one's trip schedule. Every driver would certainly benefit from a way to grab a quick snack on the road.
Look no further than our project, the Dispens-O-Matic! Designed for motor home enthusiasts, this semi-automatic Starburst dispenser is a fun and practical addition to any travel adventure. It allows you to easily select and dispense your favorite Starburst candies, offering a choice between two flavors and several amounts. In addition, the Dispens-O-Matic features a display that provides dispensing instructions and progress updates and also plays sounds throughout the dispensing process in case the user needs to keep his or her eyes on the road! Our creation, part of the Portable Ed Automation & eNlightenment Tool (PEdANT) series, is built with a mix of sensors, actuators, and custom software on a PIC32 microcontroller. It's our way of bringing a little more convenience and enjoyment to life on the road. |
Set-Up and Failsafes
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The user initiates candy dispensing by first pressing any button to wake the Dispens-O-Matic.
From here, the Dispens-O-Matic incorporates several failsafes. To prevent candy from spilling during dispensing, the Dispens-O-Matic requires that a cup be present to catch the candies. In addition, attempting to dispense candy when no candy is present wastes energy, so the Dispens-O-Matic checks for candy in its cartridges before allowing dispensing. As shown in the video at left, if the user attempts to dispense without candy or a cup, dispensing is prevented, and the display and sound system both indicate to the user how to rectify the issue. The Dispens-O-Matic also features several external labels indicating where to load the candy and cup. Once candy and a cup have been loaded, the Dispens-O-Matic is ready to dole out candy! |
Dispensing Candies
After loading candy and the cup and waking the Dispens-O-Matic, the user turns the amount, or "AMT", dial to set the desired amount of candy. The Dispens-O-Matic adapts to the user's needs and hunger levels, allowing dispensing anywhere from 0 to 6 candies. From there, choosing the desired candy flavor is as simple as pressing the corresponding button!
During dispensing, the display constantly updates, indicating the amount of candy dispensed so far and the total dispensing time. A final display also indicates a successful full dispense and total final amount dispensed. The system also plays a joyful sound at the beginning and end of successful dispensing. The user can then retrieve his or her candy. If more is desired, the user must simply repeat the process. The Dispens-O-Matic is instantly ready for another dispense! |
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The Dispensing Cylinder
A closer look at the system's dispensing mechanism can be seen at left.
The Dispens-O-Matic employs a Dispensing Cylinder with two slots separated by 180°. The cylinder is located beneath two Starburst candy cartridges. In the idle state, both slots are positioned 90° away from the candy cartridges in opposite directions. A servo rotates the cylinder; rotating in opposite directions allows for dispensing two different Starburst flavors independently with one servo! The servo rotates slightly more than 90° in each direction to ensure that the next Starburst drops into its slot at the start of each cycle and falls out of its slot at the end. At the conclusion of dispensing, the motor returns to its idle position.
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Spill Prevention
Energy waste or candy spills could occur not only at the start of dispensing but also in the middle of the dispensing process. Fortunately, the Dispens-O-Matic has several features for ensuring these issues do not occur.
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Citation
The logo and background image at the top of this page were generated by ChatGPT.
The logo and background image at the top of this page were generated by ChatGPT.