PROJECTS

Automated Laundry Management System

Samsung Software Membership

Automated Laundry Management System

1. Project Duration

2016.03.06 - 2016.05.06

2. Purpose and Motivation

In the past 20 years, the number of single-person households has quadrupled, and it is projected to reach 7.09 million households by 2030. Due to this increase, the demand for unmanned laundry services is also growing. However, the current services are somewhat inconvenient for users and shop owners. This project aims to identify the causes of these inconveniences and create a more user-friendly service for business owners, users, and entrepreneurs.

3. Development Environment

4. Development Schedule

5. Background

6. Development Purpose

Overview

img1 The project aims to implement Bubble Count, Bubble Power, and Bubble Camera as solutions for managing unmanned laundry services in a PC environment. Each device will operate independently but will be interconnected via wireless communication to function as a single service.

The primary goal is to optimize the unmanned laundry service. Bubble Count will handle customer membership registration and account recharges. Bubble Power will control the power of the laundry machines based on information from Bubble Count. Bubble Camera will use Raspberry Pi 2 and Pi Cam to take real-time photos of the remaining laundry time and send them to the server.

The PC App will be implemented on a touchscreen monitor within the laundry facility, providing fingerprint recognition, coin counting, and server communication to facilitate easy use for customers. The integrated service will enhance the management and utilization of laundry facilities, increasing their value through the convergence of hardware and software.

Development Goals

Hardware Architecture

img2 Bubble Count will use Arduino to control bill acceptors and fingerprint readers and transmit the recognized values via Bluetooth Serial communication. Bubble Count and Bubble Power will connect via Bluetooth to receive the number of available laundry machines and control their power. Bubble Camera will use TCP/IP communication and Open CV to capture the remaining laundry time from the webcam and transmit it to the server in real-time. Future plans include obtaining PCB boards from laundry machine manufacturers to measure the remaining laundry time without Bubble Camera.

Software Architecture

img3 The software architecture includes:

Quantitative Goals

Goal Description Weight
Bubble Count, Bubble Power, Bubble Camera Ensuring smooth operation and no malfunctions among the three devices, with data integrity during server or Bluetooth communication. 20
Server, Web Transmitting processed data to PC APP and Android, providing a comprehensive overview, and allowing manager settings via Web. 30
PC APP Executing user fingerprint recognition, bill acceptor information, and communicating with Server and Bubble Count for device control. 30
Android Enabling remote monitoring of laundry facility status and real-time updates on the remaining time of the used laundry machines. 20

1) WPF

Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) is a next-generation presentation system for building visually appealing Windows client applications. WPF enables the creation of a wide range of standalone and browser-hosted applications. It uses a resolution-independent, vector-based rendering engine that leverages modern graphics hardware. WPF supports a broad range of application development features, including XAML, controls, data binding, layout, 2D and 3D graphics, animation, styles, templates, documents, media, text, input system, and more. It is included in the Microsoft .NET Framework, allowing the creation of integrated applications using other .NET Framework class library elements.

2) IoT (Internet of Things)

IoT involves embedding sensors and communication functions in various objects to connect them to the internet. These objects include home appliances, mobile devices, wearable computers, and other embedded systems. Objects connected to IoT must have unique IP addresses and may include sensors for data acquisition from the environment. The development of IoT must address the security challenges posed by the potential for all connected objects to be hacked. According to Gartner, the number of objects using IoT technology was 900 million by 2009 and is expected to reach 26 billion by 2020. The vast amount of data generated by connected objects, known as Big Data, requires the development of efficient algorithms for analysis.

3) Arduino

Arduino is an open-source, single-board microcontroller with related development tools and environments. Initially based on AVR, it is now available in various versions, including those using ARM Cortex-M0 and Cortex-M3. Arduino can interact with the environment by receiving inputs from various sensors and controlling external devices like LEDs and motors. It offers an integrated development environment (IDE) for software development and code upload. Arduino supports integration with software like Adobe Flash, Processing, and Max/MSP. Its main advantage is the ease of programming and uploading firmware via USB. Arduino is relatively inexpensive and supports multiple operating systems, including Windows, macOS, and Linux. Arduino board schematics are available under a Creative Commons license, allowing anyone to build and modify the boards.

4) Open CV

Open CV (Open Computer Vision) is an open-source C library for computer vision. Developed by Intel, it is platform-independent and focuses on real-time image processing. It supports Intel Performance Primitives (IPP) for enhanced performance on Intel CPUs. Applications include human-computer interaction, object recognition, facial recognition, mobile robotics, gesture recognition, and more. Notable applications include the vision system of the winning robot car at the 2005 DARPA Grand Challenge and SwisTrack, software for tracking insect trajectories.

5) Bluetooth

Bluetooth is a short-range wireless technology standard for exchanging data between devices like mobile phones, laptops, and headsets. It is mainly used for low-power, short-distance wireless connections within about 10 meters. Bluetooth operates in the ISM (Industrial Scientific and Medical) frequency band (2400-2483.5 MHz). It uses 79 channels within this band, hopping frequencies 1,600 times per second to avoid interference with other systems. Bluetooth devices connect as master and slave, with one master supporting up to seven slaves. Master and slave roles can switch dynamically to maintain the connection.

6) PHP

PHP is a server-side scripting language widely used in web development. As of August 28, 2014, PHP 5.6 is available, with PHP 7 expected to be released on November 12, 2015. PHP is a foundational language for web systems worldwide, including WordPress and MediaWiki. In Korea, XpressEngine also heavily relies on PHP. The name PHP originally stood for Personal Home Page Tools but now stands for PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor. It uses C-like syntax and is popular for its ease of use and large developer community. Alternatives include ASP, JSP, CGI, and Ruby on Rails, but PHP is favored for its simplicity and compatibility with multiple operating systems. Performance enhancements can be achieved using PHP-FPM.

Development Budget

No Part Name Purpose Price (KRW) Quantity Total (KRW)
1 SSR (Solid State Relay 240VAC 15A with housing) Washing machine On/Off 1,000 1 1,000
2 O-ring terminal Power outlet 1,700 1 1,700
3 Grounding outlet Power outlet 1,000 1 1,000
4 Arduino Nano Hardware MCU 33,664 2 67,328
5 Fingerprint reader Membership management 79,000 1 79,000
6 Bill acceptor Membership coin management 79,000 1 79,000
Total         229,028

Development Environment

Development Environment

Role Distribution

Role Distribution

Development Schedule

Development Schedule

Glossary

No Term Meaning
1 WPF A new UI platform by Microsoft that offers improved graphics performance by directly accessing DirectX.
2 Image Processing Encompasses any form of information processing where the input and output are images. It often involves photo or video processing as examples.
3 Bluetooth A wireless technology standard for exchanging data over short distances, initially developed by Ericsson in 1994.
4 HTTP A protocol for transferring information on the World Wide Web, commonly used for HTML documents.

References