IoT Touchless Soap Dispenser with Level Alert

Shared soap dispensers in washrooms are touched by hundreds of hands a day, which defeats the purpose of hand hygiene — and in hostels, labs and clinics, nobody notices the dispenser is empty until it matters. Manual pump bottles solve neither problem: they need contact, and refill depends on someone checking. Touchless dispensers exist commercially, but they are sealed black boxes with no refill warning. The useful engineering gap is a dispenser that dispenses without contact, meters its own soap level, and tells the facility staff before it runs dry. This project builds exactly that on an ESP32: IR hand detection, a peristaltic pump for positive-displacement dosing, level sensing with an on-device OLED bar, and Wi-Fi telemetry that logs each dispense and raises a low-level alert on the dashboard. Every subsystem is student-built and documented, so the report and viva can walk through sensing, actuation, dosing math and the IoT data path.

1. The IR proximity sensor continuously watches the dispense zone; when a hand is detected within range, it signals the ESP32.
2. The ESP32 runs the peristaltic pump for the configured dose duration, pushing a measured volume of soap through the nozzle tube.
3. A level sensor measures the soap remaining in the reservoir; the ESP32 converts it to a percentage and renders a bar on the OLED.
4. Each dispense increments a usage counter stored on the device.
5. Over Wi-Fi, the ESP32 publishes the dispense event, current level and counter to the cloud dashboard at each event and on a periodic heartbeat.
6. When the level falls below the low threshold, the device buzzes locally and the dashboard flags a refill alert.

Tech stack:

• ESP32 development board (Wi-Fi + Bluetooth)
• IR proximity sensor module (hand detection)
• 12 V DC peristaltic pump with silicone tubing
• Soap-level sensor (float/ultrasonic, per build)
• 0.96-inch OLED display (level bar, status)
• Cloud dashboard (Blynk/ThingSpeak class) for telemetry and alerts
• Arduino IDE (C/C++ firmware)
• 12 V adapter with buck converter + rechargeable battery pack

• [Touchless IR dispensing] An IR proximity sensor detects a hand under the nozzle and triggers a dispense with no contact.
• [Peristaltic pump dosing] A 12 V peristaltic pump gives positive-displacement metering, so each dispense delivers a repeatable dose and the soap path stays sealed.
• [Configurable dose size] Dispense duration is adjustable in firmware, letting the student demonstrate small versus large dose settings.
• [Soap-level sensing with OLED bar] A level sensor tracks the reservoir and the OLED shows a live level bar, so the device itself reports when it is running low.
• [Low-level buzzer alert] When the level crosses the low threshold, a buzzer sounds at the unit in addition to the dashboard alert.
• [IoT dashboard and alerts] The ESP32 publishes dispense events, level readings and low-level alerts over Wi-Fi to a cloud dashboard for remote monitoring.
• [Usage counter] Every dispense is counted and timestamped, giving refill planning data on the dashboard.
• [Battery-backed operation] A rechargeable battery pack keeps the unit running during power cuts; mains adapter charging included.

• Working touchless soap dispenser prototype (ESP32, IR sensor, pump, level sensor, OLED, enclosure)
• Complete firmware source code (dosing, level logic, Wi-Fi telemetry, alerts)
• Circuit and wiring documentation
• Cloud dashboard setup guide with alert configuration
• Component list with ratings
• Dose and level calibration procedure (buyer-run)
• Project report PDF (hygiene background, system design, dosing method, IoT architecture, test procedure)
• PPT presentation for final review
• Viva Q&A preparation document (peristaltic pumping, IR sensing, MQTT/HTTP telemetry)
• Setup and demonstration guide

• This is a student prototype, not a waterproof commercial dispenser; the electronics must be kept dry and it is not rated for outdoor or high-splash installation.
• Dispensed dose is a design setting verified by the buyer's own calibration (measuring actual mL per dispense); the pump tube wears over time and dose drifts, which is documented as a maintenance point.
• Cloud alerts and dashboard need Wi-Fi; without network the unit still dispenses and shows the level locally, but no remote alert is sent.
• Level-sensor accuracy depends on the reservoir geometry and sensor mounting; it is an indicator, not a laboratory measurement.
• Battery runtime varies with dispense frequency and Wi-Fi duty cycle.