Published Paper Details:

Outdoor clothes drying is common, but our plans are frequently ruined when unexpected rain dampens our laundry. This everyday experience inspired the development of a smart clothesline system that leverages the Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI), and sustainable energy. The smart clothesline system is comprised of a NodeMCU microcontroller, rain and humidity sensors, temperature sensors, light sensors, and a wind sensor. The sensor measurements are continuously uploaded to a cloud server, and from there, the system displays a simple web dashboard that tracks the current conditions of the IoT-enabled clothesline system from anywhere on any device. In addition to being able to tell when it is raining, the smart clothesline system uses free weather API data combined with the local sensors to predict rainfall 15-30 minutes in advance through a lightweight decision model. When rain is detected or predicted, the servo motor retracts the clothesline rod automatically by moving the clothesline garments under a protective roof, and at the same time, preventing the fabrics from getting wet. Additionally, to ensure this system is sustainable, it uses a small solar panel and a rechargeable battery pack. We are pleased to offer this low-cost, environmentally friendly, reliable home automation system that minimizes the manual effort of managing our laundry while minimizing dependency on grid electricity. The system illustrates the possible amalgamation of IoT, AI, and solar in a practical smart home application.