We live in the future don’t we? Is there a reason why only rich people have touchscreen controlled showers and temperature regulated bathtubs? [Raptor_Demon] shows us how to make our very own automated bathtub for cheap, using our favorite microprocessor — the Arduino.
The system controls the filling of the tub, monitors the temperature based on a user profile — and it even adds bubbles. Why do you need this? You probably don’t — but why not, wouldn’t it be nice to press a button and have a bath drawn for you? It uses an Arduino compatible board that controls 3 relays for the water system, a DS18b20 temperature sensor on the inlet and a second wireless (434mhz) Arduino compatible board for monitoring the tub temperature and adding bubble bath using a hacked automated soap dispenser.
[Raptor_Demon] showcased his prototype at the Maker Faire NC 2013 and 2014 where it was a huge hit. He even had a full size tub going, in which he would sit in during his explanation — check it out!
[Thanks Hardik!]
Ah, come on.. make it IoT.. many lulz await in the land of bath/shower hacking!
It has the ability to do IoT, when i designed it i added the capability for it and even tested it but i am still working out the bugs in the code.
So I saw once I clicked through and read your article. Looks like a fun build! I
Arduino dev board/ Atmel microcontroller not microprocessor and usually only the favorite of people who haven’t tried anything else.
Tough to get the height of water in a bath without modifying the bath at all. Flow-meter would only work with people of similar volume, ultrasonic no good with moving people, timing has similar issues to flow meter with a few more inaccuracy’s… Maybe machine vision – though people may not like the camera?
Just stick a probe on the side and measure resistance…when the water completes the circuit (lowering the resistance from infinite), it’s full.
The low tech solution of course is to use a float valve (like your toilet tank)…should have thought of that earlier.
Thought of that but I consider it modifying the bath + you can’t set the height based on resistivity because what’s actually in the water would be unpredictable… I think the point is to have the bath still look like an ordinary bath without a whole lot of wires etc coming out of it – else wise this would be a simple affair.
You could make a wireless sensor that you clip on the side at the level you want the water to be at (adjustable height)…stuff it in a rubber duck or something for aesthetics if you must be so picky. Nothing fancy…if there’s less than x resistance sustained for y time then the water is at sensor height (this is how simple water sensors used in various applications work, no ultrasound or machine vision BS necessary). Then sit in the tub while it fills (wow, what a concept) so varying displacement isn’t a problem.
I’m tired of needlessly complicated solutions to simple problems. It leads to terrible things like wireless printers, all-in-one desktops, wireless modem/router gateways, car stereos that run half the dashboard (and thus can’t easily be replaced) instead of just playing music, and the like.
Now that I think about it, it could attach via suction cups to make things even simpler.
Or a mini float that sticks out of the overflow drain by a few inches.
Seems simple enough since you’re creating user profiles anyways.
A calibration bath.
1) Pour a known volume of fluid using the flow meter.
2) Use ultrasonic sensor to measure water height
3) Have human enter the bath
4) Use ultrasonic sensor to measure water height. Wait for values to settle down. (i.e. for human to stop moving)
5) You now know how many inches of water the human displaces.
6) ????
7) Profit.
Indeed! this was my first micro controller project. in testing i found that given the size of the tub timing was the best option. As flow was more or less constant running the water for an extra second or 2 only added about 1mm of extra water and we didnt have to have extra sensors in or around the tub.
I’m still waiting for the coffee pot triggered by a button on the alarm clock.
There already are plenty of electric coffee machines with alarm clock you can keep on the bed stand. Just search for …surprise… “coffeee machine alarm clock”.
The reason only rich people have touch screens in bathtubs and similar toys is because those are novelties only a few companies produce for a restricted set of whealthy customers, hece the hugely inflated prices. If you ever looked at the technology behind and licensing fees for systems such as KNX you understand it’s a niche market where a few lucky companies make a shitload of money by selling to the rich toys most hackers could make in their basement.
Auto-fill and temperature control… I thought they’ve been pretty much standard issue on average houses for past 15 years or so – or is it only in Japan?
Have you ever been to another country?
Who has time for a bath, and the time to fill it.
When you sit down in a bath you’re sitting in a toilet.
Needed badly in California! Please hack and develop a rinse first then a pause for lathering and then recirculated water for invigorating hydro massage (beats sitting in a tub) with small amounts of hot water added while in recirc mode to keep up temp then finish off with fresh water and cool down shower. Your washer does this with clothes.
Water scarce places need this a lot more than a fancy bath.
A water saving way to bathe would be a good Hackaday Prize entry..a lot of places are having drought and not bathing leads to health problems.
I don’t any average person would be able to actually ‘sit down’ in that tub.
We did this in my first electronics class at RPI in 1993. It was a fun project.