Nespresso Capsule Detector

Nespresso fans rejoice! If you like coffee (of course you do) and are a Nespresso fan, chances are you are one of two types of persons: the ones that chosen one type of capsule and stick to it or the ones that have a jar full of mixed capsules and lost track which coffee is which. Of course, there is a third, rarer, OCDish, kind. The ones that have every capsule organized neatly by color in a proper holder, full of style. In any case, if you forgot which color is which coffee because you threw the case away and forgot about it here’s an interesting weekend project for you: the Nespresso Capsule Detector.

[circuit.io team] made a neat Arduino-based project that can detect which capsule is which using an RGB color detector and display information about it on an LCD display. It’s a pretty simple project to make. If you have a 3D printer you can print the case, if not it’s fairly easy to come up with a working casing for the electronics and capsule.

The operation is simple, just drop the capsule in the hole and the Nespresso Capsule Detector will tell you which type it is, its intensity, its flavor tones and the optimal cup size for the coffee in question. We are just not sure if it can detect the Nespresso weddingbots correctly, but who knows?

Have a look:

29 thoughts on “Nespresso Capsule Detector

  1. The development tool used to put it all together looks interesting. Select your peripherals, controller board and it spits out code.?

    I’ve often wondered why software development tools can’t be more graphic based than text based.

      1. We have huge LabVIEW probjects ranging from a measurement environment in our lab to one that controls the whole electron microscope (custom design and built in house). Some people just like to look at icons and spaghetti

  2. Paying 4x the $ for your coffee – CHECK
    Generating a shitload of laminated / composite material waste for no reason other than laziness – CHECK
    Just get a Moka pot and find YOUR kind of locally and freshly roasted beans. If you want foamed milk, get a manual foamer.
    Saved money, saved waste, got quality coffee, supported local businesses, showed nestle the finger – CHECK

    1. A moka pot does not create a true espresso because it is not brewed at anywhere close to the same pressure. You’re lucky if you can find a good coffee/grind/water combo to create a crema in a moka. I like my moka pot but I also like my real espresso made convenient by my Nespresso machine.

    2. Nespresso is brilliant when you get up 5 minutes before you have to get out the door though.. After a (way too) long night of coding. Just insert pod, press buttons and coffee 30 seconds later. :9

      In my life this means I actually get to have the coffee. Making one with coffee grinds would mean I wouldn’t have time to make one, at least not in the morning.

  3. Personally, I don’t like the programming environment. I’m interested in learning as much as I can about things. That is what makes a maker/hacker in my opinion; not following directions and making someone else’s stuff with no deviation. I understand why they went that way. Making things easier for people is a natural tendency, but not in this scope.

  4. this is cute, but I dont do the pods.
    My dream is a system which processes from roast beans to coffee.
    I would also think about a green bean roaster but that is for another rant
    1-bulk store good beans in a freezer up in/on a cabinet
    2-motorized screw or rotating ball airlock to get a dose of beans down the chute
    3-bog standard ceramic slow grinder
    4-dump into a pneumatically activated aeropress like mix & fast press
    5-inject and mix sugar, milk, cream, flavor, or hot butter as required to be fully auto-barista
    Throw it on a wakeup timer or click a key fob to get it full-auto coffee.
    I love my Areopress and Hario grinder but if I am not up to using them I cheat with Starbucks Via packets though to be fair many coffee drinkers do not have 220v for a fast kettle and so need a coffee machine experience anyways. But the dream has been floating since the 90s along with the rest of my automated dream kitchen(go donut machine!).

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