Engineering Portfolio

Project Overview

My prototype addresses a common but overlooked problem in university dining halls: unnecessary waste of water when students overfill cups while distracted or while transporting their cups to their tables. The observations and interviews conducted revealed repeated patterns of spills, overpouring, and subsequent discarding of drinks. To solve this problem, I designed a contactless, automatic liquid dispenser that detects when a cup is placed at the base and stops filling once the cup is full.

What makes this design unique is the combination of effective automation and sustainability. It directly reduces water waste in dining halls and also improves hygiene through contactless operation.

Context & Constraints

The project was developed for busy university dining halls where students socialize and are distracted. Primary constraints included:

Low-level prototyping materials for prototypes (cardboard, foam board, printed graphics)
Need for an affordable, maintainable solution that fits the existing infrastructure
Design must be intuitive for a diverse student population

Prototype Images

Front view of the prototype

Side View

Low-angle View

Design Process

The process followed human-centered design stages:

Passive & active observations in dining halls; interviews with students and staff to surface key issues (overfilling, spills, rushing).
Brainstormed multiple solutions (awareness campaigns, mechanical implementations, sensors) and selected a sensor-based dispenser for direct impact.
Built low-level cardboard prototype a nozzle and tape in place of sensors.
Used the cardboard prototype to communicate functionality and gather user feedback; identified improvements for a better prototype.
Built a final low-level foam board prototype with printed screens, sensor printouts, and a nozzle to simulate cup detection and halt of automatic dispensing.

Resume

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