Binbot SETU Applied Robotics

Final Blog – Robot State Machine and Debugging Reflection In the final stage of this project, my main work was focused on understanding and implementing the control logic of the robot using a state machine approach. The robot used distance sensor inputs through the ADC channels, and these sensor readings were then used to decide how the two motors should move. The basic idea was that the robot should be able to search for a target, detect when the target is present, move towards it, and correct its direction if the target is more clearly detected on the left or right side. The final program was based on a PIC16F877A microcontroller running with CCS RTOS. The system was divided into several tasks. One task was responsible for reading the ADC values from the distance sensors. Two output tasks were responsible for generating PWM signals for the two motors. Another task worked as the state machine, which decided the next movement of the robot according to the sensor condition. This structu...

  Final Blog - BinBot Project The BinBot project was designed as a smart recycling system that combines data processing, cloud storage, and dashboard analytics to encourage recycling through competition and gamification. The overall team design focused on creating a system where recycling events could be tracked, processed, and visualised through live leaderboards based on the Irish Deposit Return Scheme. My main contribution to the team design was building the backend data pipeline and analytics system using Node-RED, Google Sheets and Looker Studio. I developed the NodeRED flows that process recycling events, assign deposit values to containers, and automatically log the data into Google Sheets. I also structured the Google Sheets data so it could integrate correctly with Looker Studio for dashboard visualisation. In Looker Studio I created dashboards and visualisations including school leaderboards, county rankings, bin-level analytics, KPI scorecards and trend charts based o...

This sprint is about what progress we have made since the last blog we have done. In the last blog, I had just a simple inject that displayed a pseudo leaderboard in the debug. At that stage, everything was very basic and only existed inside Node-RED with no real data storage or visualisation. Since the last blog I had extended the inject nodes to inject into a function that then updates and looks up a pseudo barcode, recognises what bottle/can it is, assigns it a deposit value, and logs it to Google Sheets. This was a big step forward because instead of just printing values in the debug panel, I now have a proper data pipeline where each recycling event is stored as a row of data.  The barcode logic works by mapping different inputs to container types such as cans, small bottles, and large bottles. Each of these is then assigned a value based on the Irish deposit return scheme (for example €0.15 or €0.25). This means every time an inject node is triggered, it simulates a real-wor...

This sprint is focusing on coming up with dividing the work and developing new features for the Binbot. We had a talk and brainstorm last week about all the features we should implement we then divided the work evenly taking into account who wants to do a certain feature. This week we started working on the features. I am working on the Google Classroom real time updated leaderboard. The workflow is BinBot → Node-RED → Google Sheets → Dashboard (Looker). What I have done so far is I use NODE-RED to inject a bottle with a fake barcode, Node-RED id's the bottle and checks the size and worth of the bottle, Node-RED then updates the leaderboard. Everytime a bottle is scanned it adds the value to the bin and adds the value to the school the bin belongs to.  The event is then saved to Google Sheets for example; timestamp | school_id | bin_id | deposit_value ------------------------------------------------------- 10:30     | SCH_001   | BIN_A  | 0.15 10:31...

May 20th, 2026. This final blog is focusing on the everything that has been completed up to this point across the whole project and will go into lower level detail on my contribution to the project. Overall Team Design A diagram of the overall BinBot IoT project is shown in the figure below: The workflow of this design is as follows 1.  Available HTTP endpoints tunneled through Ngrok hosted on Node-RED to give users access to Google Classroom Invitations and notifications + Email Pub/Sub Subcriptions and emails using Resend API. 2.  BinBot's Ultrasonic Sensors measure bin fullness, the Slave Microbit processes this data, encrypts it using XOR encryption, and passes it to the Master Microbit to publish to the MQTT Broker. 3.  A user scans an item using their phone's Barcode Scanner, and inputs it into the IoT App to publish to the central MQTT Broker. 4.  Node-RED MQTT Listeners receive the barcode and fullness data, triggering automated Google Classroom and Email not...

March 27th, 2026. This week's sprint focused on our own individual developments. I was put on the Google Classroom functionality for this sprint, which I worked on throughout and finished in this sprint. Google Classroom - What is it, why use it, and how the BinBot will use it Google Classroom is a popular learning management app that allows for classroom materials or announcements to be published in a classroom space. Teachers can create a classroom for their students where they can view materials online as opposed to only being able to view them in person or in a physical format.       As discussed in the last blog, my work was to set up a Node-RED environment that allows for notifications and alerts to be sent automatically to the Google Classroom, which came with a lot more challenges than I had initially anticipated. The following section will cover the steps taken for getting this set up, both on the Google API side and the Node-RED side.      In...

 Blog 5 - Bin Bot Project - Davin Barron Introduction The core objective of the Bin Bot project is to develop an intelligent, automated smart bin utilising an MQTT network. During the initial design phases, our primary focus was simply identifying what smart features were technically viable, practical to implement, and well-aligned with the bin's overall functionality. Following plenty of collaborative team discussions, we decided to center Bin Bot around Ireland's deposit return scheme, specifically tailoring the user experience for primary school classrooms. By gamifying the recycling process, our goal is to teach children the vital importance of sustainability through a fun, engaging, and interactive activity. Now that we are in the final sprint, we can really see how the Bin Bot's IoT capabilities are starting to take root and the entire system is finally taking shape. In this blog, I’m going to talk about my specific technical contributions to the project, as well as m...