The Automated Beverage Dispenser

An overview shot of the Automated Beverage Dispenser. At the top is the beverage storage tank, which is connected to the dispenser by a plastic hose. Also easily visible are the cup platform and the liquid flow valve.


A right side shot of the dispenser. Again visible are the valve, supply hose, and cup platform. Visible on the right is the tilt cam, which controls the angle of the cup platform. Behind the tilt cam is the servo which controls the tilt angle. In the center is the back side of the laser detector, which is one of two sensors for cup detection.


A close up shot of the valve and valve servo. The valve is tied to the valve servo with a wire, so that when the servo rotates the valve is opened or shut.


An overview shot of the dispenser, along with the control board. The large green board attached to the right of the control board is the status display.

A close up shot of the cup detection components. On the right is the laser source, a standard laser pointer. On the right is the photo resistor that was used as a laser detector, and in the center is the short range light detector. The wooden post in the middle is a mirror that reflects the laser onto the photo resistor.

Videos:Below are some links to short video clips of the system in action.

Demo 1
Demo 1 is a short demo of the system, from cup insertion to the end of a complete cycle. Note the premature change in cup angle due to a errant sonic ranger reading; the cup should not have immediately been lowered as it is in this video.

Demo 2
Demo 2 is another short demo of the system. This shows a correct and complete cycle, without any errors.

Demo 3
Demo 3 is a close up video of the pour spout during a complete cycle.

Demo 4
Demo 4 is a close up of the status display during a complete cycle. The system messages are fuzzy in the video, but they read "Insert cup", "Filling...", and "Please remove cup".





All material copyright 2005 Michael Everhart and David Castellani.