smartLOCKER
your public storage solution
Creators: Lin, Helena, Adam, Mads, Andreas & Sofie.
The project was created equally by all of the members
Introducing the locker system of the future.
The smartLOCKER from dosLHAMAS is a one-of-a-kind locker system made from sustainably sourced wood, perfect for all conference centers, zoos, and public spaces in general.
The modules can be made in a wide variety of sizes and be configured in many different ways to suit your customer's needs best.
Sustainability
We at dosLHAMAS believe in a more sustainable planet. Both in terms of using renewable materials, but also with sourcing from foresters that fights slave/child labor and over deforestation.
The surface is coated in linseed oil, which only needs to be reapplied once a year for the locker to stay like new forever. We thereby eliminate the use of toxic chemicals and paints, whilst also making it easier to reuse the wood when the locker is one day taken out of service.
Electronic components have never been sustainable, but we’ve tried to make our use of them as sustainable as possible. All the components are easily accessible and replaceable, meaning you don't need to replace the entire locker if a pixel dies in the OLED. We believe reparability is a consumer right, and are therefore mostly using off the shelf components, ensuring any electrician can work on our lockers.
Easy to use interface
Using the locker couldn't get more easy. Just scan the QR code of the chosen locker - this starts the booking. The next step is to enter your e-mail and a password, place your stuff inside the locker, and then close the door to lock it. The interface will then show you that your locker is locked, and a visual timer will tell you how long you have before you have to unlock and empty your locker. After unlocking the locker, you have two options - either choose to close the locker and keep your reservation, or end your booking.
In case you forget your password or e-mail, when trying to enter the locker, the UI will give you the opportunity to chose the “forgot my password” option. This will send an e-mail to you with the correct password, letting you return to your booking/enter the locker.
The technicalites
So you’re that big of a nerd? Well lucky for you we are too, and we would love to tell you all about our smartLOCKER functions behind the scenes. In general we’re working in three different areas: NodeRed, ESP-8266 and physical. NodeRed handles our online UI interface, and communicates with the ESP-8266 module in the smartLOCKER through MQTT messages. The ESP-8266 is programmed with Arduino code, handles the physical interactions with the locker, and communicates these back to NodeRed through more MQTT messages. Buckle your seatbelts and put on your reading glasses, ‘cause we’re about to drop an in depth knowledge bomb on these inner workings.
NodeRed
Prior to diving into the NodeRed aspect of our locker project, we made sure to sketch an interactive wireframing of the UI in Figma. You can test our interactive prototype by clicking here . Even though it's quite a low fidelity prototype, it allowed us to have a visual overview of the tabs in NodeRed, which we in hindsight probably should have named better than just by numbers. In this project, we did not encounter any misunderstandings when connecting the NodeRed tabs, as we had the Figma file to help. We will however take this with us for the next project and be more consistent in using descriptive naming for NodeRed tabs.
The following was used to create an overview of the Message flow as NodeRed acts as a tool to wire hardware devices together. The blue boxes indicates Arduino coding whereas the red boxes are NodeRed coding.
One of the usability features we added was the confirmation e-mail, which you can read more about in our Easter blog post here. The reset password e-mail, which is sent to the user in case of a forgotten password, is built the same way.
Another feature we added was the countdown from 12 hours, as the lockers should not be able to be booked for more than a full day at the zoo. This was done for security reasons as well as to hinder forgotten bags occupying lockers. The function was created by making an automatic reset, that sets a timer for 12 hours, when the door is locked. If 11 hours has passed from the locker being locked, NodeRed sends an e-mail to the owner stating that the locker will unlock automatically in an hour.
Then staff members can empty the locker after 12 hours, if the locker is still booked. If the user logs in to the app, a timer shows how much time he/she/they have left before the locker automatically unlocks.
To ensure that the user only sees one of the UI menus at a time, we use the UI_control module in NodeRed to toggle between the different menus, so the user is always shown the correct page. Often what the menu shows is dependent on the state of the ESP-8266, which results in a lot of communication between the two using MQTT.
ESP-8266
The ESP-8266 module is the smartLOCKER’s microcontroller unit that controls all of its functions. Connected to the MCU is a stepper motor for locking the locker door, two LEDs (green and red) for indicating whether the smartLOCKER is available or not, a button to register if the door is closed, and finally an OLED display for showing some information about the locker, time, and weather. The MCU is programmed through Arduino and receives commands from NodeRed via MQTT. When the MCU receives a message, a callback function is run to check the incoming payload. The MCU then reacts accordingly, e.g. by unlocking the locker with the stepper motor and changing the OLED display to the unlocked screen when it is told to unlock by NodeRed. To read more about the Arduino code see recent blog posts from the progress here.
To show how the microcontroller works in combination with the UI, we made the following video:
Concept development and 3D Model
For the design of the locker, we began by exploring which context the locker should work in. We settled pretty quickly on the idea of a locker, which through different door designs would be able to work in a variety of different environments. In order to have something specific to work from though, we decided to go with a zoo environment where the user scenario especially involved families.
We then did some concept development through some sketching. Here we discussed how the lockers would fit into their environment through different combinations of structure variations. We decided that a combination where the lockers would be able to be used as seating and tunnels for playing would be ideal, whilst also allowing for the lockers to fit into different spaces most optimally.
Moreover we considered different form variations. Here we settled upon a basic shape to allow for maximum capacity and modularity. The shape of the door would then be the point of interest, as this would have a more dynamic shape with the OLED screen and a design laser cut into the material.
From here we began the modelling of the locker in the CAD program Fusion 360.
This is where we started the actual detailing of the locker. The locker ended up having the measurements 30x21x21. The locker is produced in laser cut wood, which is assembled in the connective interfaces (eg. with wood glue). This was a decision made to meet the design idea - creating a “wildlife” and sustainable aesthetic matching the zoo-environment. When laser cutting the wood, it is possible to simultaneously burn the figure of the animal face and the QR code into the locker door. The prints are of course something that could be left out or changed, if the locker had to fit into a different setting.
Since we chose to design the locker door as a square with the corners cut off (octagon), the locker box has some triangular pieces of wood in each corner. The locking mechanism works by turning a small round metal plate on the door up behind one of these triangles on the locker box when the locker is prompted to lock (by the use of the UI). This secures the door and prevents the locker from opening. We decided to place the locking mechanism on the back of the door, so that it would enable a larger room for freedom of modularity. In addition we cut a small rectangular hole in the locker door to fit the OLED screen.
One of the advantages of working on a CAD model, is the opportunity to create a visualisation of how the locker would look in an actual setting. We have created renderings of the locker itself, but also with multiple lockers, which is when our locker design is really brought to justice. This is where the design allows for multiple setups, causing a “playground” like structure. To get an actual image of the size of the lockers, we inserted a 1:1 figure of a man. This proves, that the lockers are perfectly sized for children climbing around (without the danger of falling too long distances), while still providing spots where the grown ups could sit and take a deserved break.
Demo video:
Thank you for reading through and getting familiar with our smartLOCKER project!
Links: