FidoFeed Innovations
IoT smart feeding system for large dogs combining wireless scheduling, portion control, and real-time monitoring
Overview
FidoFeed is a WiFi-enabled dog feeder built around an Arduino Uno and ESP8266 module. The device runs firmware that manages precise portion dispensing on a configurable timetable, monitors food levels with an ultrasonic sensor, and publishes status updates via MQTT to any smartphone or home-automation hub.
Key design priorities:
- Week-long hopper capacity to minimise maintenance for shelters and busy owners
- Concurrent task handling so dispense, sensor polling, and network keep-alive never block each other
- Automatic reconnection on network drop, with local schedule execution continuing offline
Technical Implementation
The firmware uses a non-blocking millis()-based timer to run the meal scheduler, sensor polling, MQTT keep-alive, and servo control concurrently on a single thread. Portion size is calibrated by measuring dispense duration in milliseconds, achieving gram-accurate results without a physical scale.
The ultrasonic sensor samples kibble height at each feeding cycle and during a background polling interval, publishing a low-food alert via MQTT before the hopper runs dry. The ESP8266 connects to the broker at startup and reconnects automatically on network drop, keeping the schedule intact.
Key Features
Portion sizes and meal times are configured through a schedule table stored on-device. The servo-driven dispenser triggers at each interval with no user action required.
An ultrasonic distance sensor continuously measures the remaining kibble height and triggers a low-food alert through the MQTT broker before the supply runs out.
The ESP8266 puts the feeder on the local network. Any MQTT-compatible app or platform can receive status messages and send override commands remotely.
Firmware measures dispense duration in milliseconds to achieve consistent portions, preventing overfeeding for large breeds on strict nutritional plans.
The week-long hopper and sealed electronics enclosure were designed for environments where the device runs unattended for extended periods.