And The Sauce Thickens...

The first smart stirring device!
Hard at work, watching you watch you watch me watch ATST
Oh the things you can do while ATST is hard at work!

Inspiration

82% of Americans get takeout every two weeks. Of these, 40% claim they simply don't have enough time to cook, and 37% blame it on laziness. 52% feel guilty after ordering takeout! Furthermore, cooking at home is an enormous struggle for Americans with disabilities. More then 3 Million Americans have a disability in their hand or forearm, which complicates the fine motions of cooking. Other conditions, such as peripheral neuropathy, carpal tunnel, tremors, and more can make cooking an arduous process. We want to make cooking easier and more accessible.

What it does

We aim to bring independence and simplicity to cooking with "And The Sauce Thickens", the first Smart IoT self-stirring device for pots and bowls. A myriad of dishes require continuous and laborious stirring until a certain consistency is achieved, including marinara sauce, stir-fry sauce, alfredo sauce, tomato soup, chowder, and more! Furthermore, many will actually be ruined if overstirred, such as merengue or whipped cream.

ATST consists of a rigid, 80-20 frame that allows for it to be mounted over any bowl or pot, on the stovetop or counter, and at a variety of heights. The mixing utensil can be easily swapped in and out, and attached in a range of lengths. The IoT system allows for the user to simply enter the sauce being cooked, and then hit start! They can then walk away and dedicate their valuable time to any other needs, while ATST dutifully stirs their pot. The IoT app allows the user to even check on the status of their sauce, and pause if needed. Then, when the desired viscosity is reached, ATST automatically stops the stirring and alerts the user via text message! No more sweating over the stove for a pasta sauce to thicken -- ATST will do it for you!

How we built it

One of our priorities was creating an accessible and low-cost system. Commercial automatic stirrers run in the hundreds of dollars -- not a viable investment for our target users. Therefore, we optimized and experimented with sensors to make sure we had the best combination.

We use a stepper motor with a motor driver for actuation. To detect changes in viscosity, we have a derived torque sensor. Essentially, an ultrasonic sensor allows us to measure the rotation time of the spatula. Changes in this time indicate steps skipping, and that the viscosity is changing. Therefore, we are able to achieve complex functionality in a very cost-effective manner. Our only off-the-shelf sensor is an ultrasonic sensor, and the stepper motor provides all motion.

Our device operates with an Arduino Feather Huzzah ESP8266 to provide effective control of our sensors and access to the internet for our IoT features. With a small and low-cost microcontroller, we harness the functionality of IoT without the high cost tag.

The microcontroller communicates with our JavaScript backend via HTTP requests to our API. A simple, single-page React frontend allows users to set the stirring speed of ATST from any device without having to install anything. The backend is also responsible for automatically alerting the user via text message when the stirrer has finished its job.

Challenges we ran into

One of our largest challenges was actually the cooking! We tried making a roux as our first experiment, which turned out great! We then upgraded to a creme patisserie, and realized that pastry making is difficult! But ATST did create a wonderfully creamy custard in the end, which was a lovely 5am snack.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We started with a very complex sensor suite, but after thinking it over seriously, decided that we didn't need to throw the kitchen sink at this project to create something elegant and helpful. Trying to "hack" sensors and continuously reduce our sensor suite while keeping our original functionality was challenging, but fulfilling.

What we learned

We've learned a lot about designing for a diversity of users with various abilities and resources, as well as creating a household device that needs to be safe and intuitive. Although we all have experience tinkering, creating a product that necessitated polishing was a great experience! We also loved the interdisciplinary aspect of uniting mechanical, electrical, and computer engineering together for one cohesive system.

What's next for sauce_thickens

We hope to mature this device for greater adaptability and customization. We will test various recipes to create a database of viscosities for the app to check against. We will also develop a more streamlined modular tool attachment, similar to a stand mixer. Furthermore, we will experiment with a more easy deployment of the device on the pot, in case lifting it over the pot to mount is difficult for users.