Hardware presentation

To build this innovative smart bin, you have to buy or salvage some components. Here are the elements that are going to be used but you can easily find an alternative solution.
The first and main component of our project is a tiny computer called raspberry pi 2. This component is generally used to learn programming. The programming language that will be used is python. The second component is a 50 litres bin. Our amazing bin is a “Swing cover” bin.
The next component is a servomotor used to open the lid when the user stands in front of the  ultrasonic motion detector. One ultrasonic sensor is also used to measure the filling level of the wonderful bin. The third and last sensor actually consists of four load sensors placed under the bin. They will allow to measure the weight of the added household waste.
As actuator, you will find the servomotor and four green, one orange and one red LED’s to allow the user to view the filling level of the bin.
You will also need two power supplies to charge the raspberry pi and the motor. For the raspberry, we have simply chosen a five volts mobile phone charger with a micro-usb connection. To power the motor, a six volts power supply will be used.
Lastly, you will need electronic hardware. At least one breadboard is essential to connect this electronical hardware. Two transistors will be used. The first one is used to disable the power input of the motor when it is not in use. The second one is necessary to switch off the PWM module which commands the servomotor. In addition to this, you will need some cables and resistors to connect all these components.
All the components’ specifications and links to buy them are available below. The estimated manufacturing price amounts to 120 euros. In the next episode, the software part will be presented.