Smart Toilet System for Public Hygiene
Smart Toilet System for Public Hygiene
ORG
Abstract : It is a well-known fact that sanitation is a major issue in our country India. The issue of poor sanitation is not only limited
to rural areas but it has made its way to urban, metropolitan cities as well. Although infrastructural coverage is progressively getting
better, it has so far been unable to keep up with the increase of urbanization. Our government has invested a lot of time, money, and
effort into keeping the public restrooms clean and orderly, yet the hygiene is terribly lacking. People’s lack of interest in maintaining
clean public sanitation systems in comparison to their degree of concern for maintaining clean restrooms at their houses is the
primary cause of the current state of sanitation, wasting government resources and efforts. Maintaining hygiene and cleanliness in
public washrooms is a challenging task that requires continuous monitoring and upkeep. To address this issue, we have developed
a Smart Toilet System that uses various sensors and an app-based interface to facilitate efficient washroom management. Our
solution implements an automated system that will keep track of the air quality and cleanliness of the public restrooms in order to
solve this issue. Smart Toilet System offers an innovative approach to washroom management that utilizes technology to enhance
efficiency and hygiene. The system can be easily integrated into existing washroom infrastructure and can provide valuable insights
into the washroom's usage patterns. We believe that the Smart Toilet System has the potential to revolutionize washroom
management practices and improve public health and hygiene. This project's major objective is to demonstrate how our system will
track various cleaning metrics and alert the cleaner when the condition of the toilet deteriorates past a certain threshold.
IndexTerms - Internet of Things; MQ-135 sensor, Smart toilet System, App development.
I INTRODUCTION
This project aims to make the public restrooms self-cleaning using an automated system which uses various IoT sensors such as
MQ-135 sensor, LDR sensor. Due to negligence of the public, majority of public restrooms are unclean and difficult to use because
of the unpleasant smell. Citizens believe that if they touch the flush button or tap, their hands will get diseased or unclean, hence
they avoid flushing. Because of this mindset, a lot of unclean waste material is retained in those toilets, and slowly, various germs
are discharged in the surrounding environment, causing many ailments. As a result, public health issues are consequently getting
worse. India has the highest rate of exposure to human waste, according to UNICEF data. It is estimated that 625 million people
lack access to restrooms. TABLE I. gives the information of the Diseases linked directly or indirectly to sanitation [11]. In the
absence of well-maintained restrooms for all, families and communities are more vulnerable to illness, stress, and aggression. While
maintaining and managing this public restroom can be costly. FIGURE I shows Poor sanitation has a substantial financial cost in
every region, but it is especially high in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. So, to overcome this problem we have developed a
system that will sense the environment and apply necessary cleaning measures. Using a well-developed system, this software/App
will provide a water level indicator, NH3 data display, last cleaned info, customer feedback. The system will also alert the Ease of
Use cleaner to check the public toilet to see if the air quality is constantly bad even after providing cleaning measures.
TABLE I. Disease burden associated with inadequate sanitation, either directly or indirectly, 2016 [11]
World
Sub-Saharan Africa
South Asia
Oceania
Eastern Asi
South-East Asia
Latin America and the Caribbean
Northern Afric
Western Asia
0 1 2 3 4
FIGURE I. Regional Economic Losses Associated with Inadequate Sanitation, as a Share of GDP, 2012 [11]
least amount of water, which lowers water waste. The pressure of the flushing system needs to be increased to improve cleaning
effectiveness. The results of this paper [1] study could reduce water waste and enhance cleanliness in public restrooms. Cleanliness
is one of the requirements for a sound and stable economy. Based on data from a late-2018 survey that re-examined households from
the 2014 survey in four states—Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh—Paper [2] suggests that open defecation is
fairly common in Indian States. From roughly 70% of rural respondents in the 2014 survey to 40–50% in 2018, this percentage
declined. The construction of new latrines is largely to blame for the decline in open defecation. Although, the Swachh Bharat Mission
encouraged people to construct publics restrooms there was still a major lack of public awareness and interest in sanitation and
hygiene. Coercive measures should be discontinued, latrine use promoted, and social attitudes that have made open defecation so
common and difficult to address in the past changed in order to eradicate it from rural India. The goal of the research paper [3] is to
decrease water waste through the development of water-saving devices. It used water level detection to save water. To reduce water
waste, it recommends developing a water-saving device with an automated mechanism that opens and closes the water-tab. After the
bathtub is filled with water, the smart house will determine to turn off the water supply automatically. It makes use of an ultrasonic
sensor to gauge the water level. When the sensor detecting the water surface gets close to the ultrasonic sensor, it will alert the user
to a rising water level and turn off the water supply before a flood happens. Researchers in [4] discuss the application of cutting-edge
technologies, including the use of an Arduino Uno, a GSM module, an IR sensor, a turbidity sensor, and a gas sensor. In this study,
they offer a strategy for ensuring that restrooms are kept clean, monitoring the work of the sweeper, and prohibiting the use of unclean
facilities. The use of intelligent and automated technologies has been recommended for "Smart Toilets with Turbidity Sensor. Modern
technologies such as solar energy to generate electricity can be used to build intelligent public restrooms. If the facilities are kept
clean and well-maintained, more people will use them, which will help keep the area clean. In the research paper [5], the suggested
approach is to develop a Mobile Toilet which can also be used during emergencies when people cannot access their public restrooms
safely. To create a transportable flush toilet self-contained in electricity, water, and drainage is this study's goal. Moreover
Furthermore, this toilet design may be utilized in less developed countries with limited infrastructure. Paper [6] talks about creating
a smart toilet system for maintaining cleanliness in the railways with the help of IoT using automation. The proposed solution uses a
robotic arm to autonomously clean the squat toilet. It uses a sequential algorithm for cleaning. A brush attached to the robotic arm's
end effector is used, and water jets are available. Stem uses extraordinarily little water and electricity. To prevent human interference
during system operation, an automatic door locking mechanism is offered. To maintain the periodicity of the cleanliness level, a
variety of sensor types are used, such as the MQ-135 sensor, which detects the stench of the toilet. Wi-Fi is used to maintain a database
that delivers all notifications to the Railway Authority's cleaning department via an Android application and a webpage. TABLE II
gives details about related Papers and their Overview.
2. Smart Public Toilet Health Check System 02-06-2020 We have employed sensors to monitor water levels in tanks, water
consumption, and human presence in the restroom. Our system
forecasts the cleanliness of restrooms using sensor data. The
Raspberry Pi is interfaced with the sensors, and after processing the
data from the sensors, it is uploaded to the cloud. Pi starts the necessary
action.
Table II. Literature Survey of related research papers and their overview.
III METHODOLOGY
This research project aims to evaluate the effectiveness and functionality of a sensor-based smart toilet system equipped with water
level sensors, ammonia detection sensor, and motion sensors in enhancing the hygiene, efficiency, and user experience of public
restrooms. FIGURE II shows the whole visual of the Suggested System.
In FIGURE II The Following 001 -MQ-135 sensor 002- MV (mixing ventilation) 003- Water Tank 004- Automatic Lights.
The methodology for this research can be divided into several key steps, each playing a crucial role in assessing the overall impact
and performance of the sensor-based smart toilet system:
III.1 IoT Sensors to Check the Ammonia Content and Water Level:
Our project makes use of a sensor which checks the content of ammonia gas in the air. It is known as the MQ-135 IoT sensor.
The smell coming from the toilet is caused by ammonia. Only at a concentration of 5 parts per million can the stench of ammonia
be detected (parts per million). When the ammonia level in the toilet reaches the predetermined threshold of ppm, the ventilation
system in the restroom is automatically turned on but when the ammonia content is below 5ppm there is no effect. The water sensor
is used to keep track of the amount of water in the tank that supplies the toilet. It is the most suitable sensor that displays the
threshold status and also takes corresponding action. There is a luminosity sensor too for regulating the brightness in the toilet. All
of the sensors communicate data to the Database or Cloud.
III.2 Cleaning Process:
The cleaning process is dynamically tailored to ensure a well-maintained and pleasant restroom environment, based on the data
collected by the various IoT sensors deployed in this project. This is a more thorough explanation of the cleaning procedure:
III.2.1 Air purification and ventilation:
The ventilation system is automatically activated when pollutants or elevated levels of odor are detected by the ammonia
detection sensors or other air quality sensors. To enhance the quality of the air in the restroom, the system starts air purification
procedures. To attain the best possible air quality, this can entail turning on exhaust fans, releasing deodorizers, or even
modifying the airflow. By taking these steps, restroom users should experience a more enjoyable and healthful environment.
In conclusion, the cleaning procedure that reacts to data from IoT sensors is a dynamic, data-driven, and user-centered strategy
that guarantees that public restrooms are kept clean, hygienic, and enjoyable to use. It increases cleaning staff productivity while
also establishing a proactive and responsive system that eventually serves the interests of the general public as well as the service
personnel in charge of maintaining restrooms.
III.3 Data Processing and Display on the App:
The smart toilet system relies heavily on the data gathered by the Internet of Things sensors, and efficient restroom management is
made possible by the way the data is processed and presented on the app. This is a more thorough description of the procedure:
IV IMPLEMENTATION
Certainly, putting in place a sensor-based smart toilet system with the features and functionalities described in the preceding sections
is a complicated process involving numerous components. Here's an overview of the key steps involved in putting such a system in
place:
IV.1 Design and Selection of a System:
Begin by designing the smart toilet system, which includes selecting appropriate IoT sensors (such as water level, ammonia
detection, and motion), actuators, and microcontrollers. Select components that are compatible with the intended environment and
project scope. FIGURE III shows the Data flow of the System.
Arduino:
Designed and manufactured in the United States, Arduino is an open-source hardware and software company, project, and
user community that produces single-board microcontrollers and microcontroller kits used in the construction of digital devices.
MQ 135 Sensor:
The MQ-135 Gas sensor is capable of detecting smoke, other hazardous gases, ammonia (NH3), sulfur (S), benzene (C6H6),
and CO2. Additionally, this sensor has an analog and digital output pin. The digital pin becomes elevated when the airborne
concentration of these gases surpasses a predetermined threshold. The on-board potentiometer can be used to set this threshold value.
An analog voltage that can be used to estimate the concentration of these gases in the atmosphere is produced by the analog output
pin. The MQ135 air quality sensor module uses about 150mA and runs at 5V.
Water Level Depth Sensor Module:
An instrument called a water level sensor determines whether the liquid level in a fixed container is too high or too low. By
measuring the volume of droplets or water through a series of parallel wires with exposed traces, the Water Level Sensor is an
affordable, user-friendly high level/drop recognition sensor.
Node MCU WIFI Module:
The NodeMCU (Node Microcontroller Unit) is an open-source environment for developing hardware and software that is
based on the ESP8266, a low-cost System-on-a-Chip (SoC).
Flutter:
Flutter is a Google open-source UI framework that simplifies cross-platform app development by allowing developers to
create high-performance, visually appealing mobile, web, and desktop apps with a single codebase. It's well-known for its "hot reload"
feature, expressive UI components, and strong community support, which make it an efficient and popular choice for developing
natively compiled apps with a native look and feel.[16]
Firebase:
Google offers a suite of backend cloud computing services and platforms for developing applications called Firebase. It
supports many different applications, such as Android, iOS, JavaScript, Node.js, Java, Unity, PHP, and C++, and hosts databases,
services, authentication, and integration for them.
Arduino IDE
The Arduino Integrated Development Environment (Arduino IDE) is a free and open-source software platform for
programming and creating applications for Arduino microcontroller boards. It offers a simple interface for writing, compiling, and
uploading code to Arduino hardware. The IDE provides a simplified programming environment that allows users to create and test
a wide variety of electronic projects, making it ideal for beginners and hobbyists in the field of embedded systems and electronics.
FIGURE VI shows a sample code wrote using Arduino IDE for MQ135 Gas sensor.
Front end:
V RESULTS
The sensor-based Smart Toilet System was implemented with promising results, improving public restroom hygiene,
efficiency, and user experience. The system monitored and responded to real-time sensor data effectively, triggering alerts for
maintenance staff when issues arose, resulting in proactive and efficient restroom maintenance. User participation and feedback
were actively encouraged, fostering a sense of collaboration and ultimately improving the restroom experience. Cleaning protocols
were optimized using data-driven decision-making, resulting in resource allocation that was cost-effective. Furthermore, the system
improved public perception by providing cleaner and more pleasant restrooms, ultimately transforming how these facilities are
managed and perceived.
VI CONCLUSION
Because of this project, we were able to create a commercially feasible solution to the issue of unhygienic public restrooms.
The mobile app is easy to install and acts as a conduit for communication between users, maintenance staff, and public restrooms.
Modern public restrooms with this technology aid in maintaining their cleanliness and hygienic conditions. The mobile app is much
simpler to use because the data display is up to par. The Internet of Things gadget is portable and reasonably priced. The use of
advanced sensors to produce more accurate data could enhance this work in the future. With the analysis of sample data and the
collection of additional test data, machine learning increases prediction accuracy. The public restroom situation in India will greatly
improve once this strategy is widely implemented.
VII ACKNOWLEDGMENT
We would like to express our gratitude and acknowledge our debt of gratitude to Professor Dr. Ganesh Pathak, our project
guide, for making this work possible. His kind counsel and knowledgeable counsel have been quite helpful at every turn of the project.
His in-depth conversations and insightful recommendations have made a significant impact on the research paper's enhancement.
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