EcoTech Intent – IanD (Group AustinT and IanH)

Title: ReCycle

In an attempt to promote green alternatives to motorized vehicles, we will create swipe access system for public bikes paired with an app that displays bike availability.

Walking can be such a drag, especially when you’re pressed for time. For busy college students, walking from class to class can be quite the hassle. If you’re a commuter and your class is across campus, it usually makes sense to hop back in your car and drive to your next class. Even then, you have to deal with traffic and parking. Beyond just the time it takes and the frustration it causes, these minutes spent driving each day to equate to a lot of time idling and a lot of unnecessary greenhouse gas production. It is estimated that 1/5th of the U.S.’s contribution to climate change comes from automobile emissions.What if you could take a quick look at your phone, locate a bike near you, and ride it to your next class? That’s what we’re trying to accomplish with ReCycle.

With ReCycle, all you have to do is swipe your membership card and one of the bike locks on the rack opens via a solenoid motor. You grab your bike, ride to the next rack closest to your destination, swipe your card again, and then put the bike in that new rack. Simple as that. Each rack accommodates a high number of bikes, ensuring you can always find a place to park it.

What sets ReCycle apart from similar projects is that it uses supersonic sensors on each spot. These sensors send data to an Arduino to determine if a bike is parked there or not. The status of each spot is constantly sent to a server that represents this data in a phone application. This way, you can view a map of what spots are available on your campus / in your city.

Budget:

1 Bike rack – ~$500

Arduino Uno w/ Wifi Shield – $45

Solenoids – ~$100

Welding/Fabrication – ~$200