r/ArduinoProjects • u/TouchForward5646 • Sep 09 '26
Project Discussion Title: Need some ideas for an IoT project
So my teacher told us to make an IoT-based project and honestly I'm kinda stuck.
I've been looking around and most of the IoT projects I find are the usual stuff — smart dustbin, smart home, plant monitoring, RFID door lock, temperature monitoring, etc.
I'm fine with taking an existing idea and improving it or making it more advanced. I just want something that's actually challenging and has some proper electronics/embedded/IoT work involved.
I'd also like to 3D print the body/mechanical parts myself, so something where the physical design is also part of the project would be really cool.
I'm not looking for something that's never been done before. I just want something where, after building it, I can look at it and feel like we actually made something substantial.
If you've made or seen any interesting IoT projects that are genuinely challenging, I'd love to hear your ideas.
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u/xebzbz Sep 09 '26
A reminder clock for the kid: it reminds them about the bus they need to take (or just get out of home on time for school) and detects if the kid has actually left home. If the kid is still here, remind them louder.
(I am a patent going it every morning)
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u/sandandcircumstance Sep 09 '26
Backyard gate lock, that lets in a landscaper on a certain day of the week in a time window of a few hours. (Acoustic) Guitar room humidity control system. Dog poop bandit cam (catching people who don't pick up their dog's poop in a certain location like a tree box by the sidewalk). These are things I want. Lol.
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u/bwente Sep 09 '26
A precision controlled water dispenser that can automatically dispense a selected amount of water without requiring a measuring cup.
The user chooses how much water they need, places a cup or container under the dispenser, and presses a button. The system measures and dispenses the requested amount or presets.
For example, if I am making ramen, I would select 2 cups of water. Useful for people with poor eyesight or mobility. Less waste of resources. Convenience of not needing multiple utensils for combined measurements (ie. 1 cup plus 2 Tbsp).
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u/walkeremote Sep 09 '26
Ciao puoi provare a riutilizzare un vecchio cellulare che non usi piu ad esempio riutilizzarlo come gateway per messaggi mqtt, in questo modo dimostri che e' possibile riciclare vecchi device per cose utili , ed azionare tramite bluetooth o porta USB dei motori per una mini car o ricevere dati da sensori, se sei interessato fammi sapere posso dirti di più suggerendoti qualche progetto sul mio blog.
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u/Anonymity6584 Sep 09 '26
Whats wrong making temperature monitor with your own twist on it?
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u/disposableaccountass Sep 10 '26
It correctly monitors and adjusts for all different people in a room but always assigns a “chill” to wherever the MIL is?
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u/Practical_Tower_8320 Sep 09 '26
Fully monitored hydrophonics system, scalable from "a bucket", a simple NFT system , to a full greenhouse with trays.
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u/Kgan14 Sep 10 '26
Here's an idea. Fix all the old iot devices. All iot out there now has little to no update infrastructure and is more often not completely insecure. Create a way to go in and fix devices because it's probably the biggest issue in iot
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u/AzzaClazza Sep 11 '26
Years ago I entered a competition to design a feral cat trap that would trap a cat then send a message saying it has been triggered and had an animal. If it was a cat it would be put down, if it was a native animal it would be checked and released. Bonus points for not triggering unless it was a cat.
Didn't win but had what I thought was a great design that used mesh networking so only 1 trap had to be within range of a phone tower and the other traps would communicate through a mesh.
Your basic dumb traps have to be checked manually daily and the activity scares away the cats. A trap that alerts you is more humane, and more efficient. With the increase in power available now you could probably even send an image of the trapped animal to prevent false alarms or triage which traps needed attention first. Lots of elements to consider, in addition to triggering and securing the animal safely, it also had to be weatherproof and washable because they had to be washed really well to remove a human scent.
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u/FivePointAnswer Sep 09 '26
I don’t know how complex your project needs to be but how about a fan that tracks you and gives you direct breeze. More complicated??: a room of 3 fans that assign themselves to people and blow on them. Bonus if they reassign based on who is closest. Bonus if two people are covered by 1 fan the second fan reassigns. Bonus if you can do it with only 1 camera. Bonus if you can do it with no cameras. Edited for clarity.