Development of an Embedded System Based Prototype Automatic Coffee Machine and Detailed Analysis of Its Modules

Coffee is one of the most popular beverages in the world and has an important place in many cultures. With the developing technology, coffee preparation processes have also evolved and automatic coffee machines have entered our lives. These machines provide convenience and time savings to the user, while optimizing the ideal brewing conditions of the coffee and increasing the quality of its flavour. Modern automatic coffee machines have advanced systems that can precisely control the temperature of the water, the grinding degree of the coffee bean and the brewing time. Thus, coffee lovers can have a consistent and perfect coffee experience in every cup. This article comprehensively covers the design, construction and testing process of a prototype automatic coffee machine. First, the requirements and goals determined within the scope of the project were defined, then the components suitable for these requirements were selected. During the design phase, the focus was on basic functions such as adjusting the coffee strength (amount), grinding the coffee, heating the water, brewing time and frothing the milk. The electronic control unit was designed based on Arduino Mega and the various functions of the machine were performed automatically. The user interface is implemented with an application written in the C# programming language. This user interface has established communication with Arduino Mega and aims to enable the user to easily adjust brewing settings. Finally, the performance of the developed prototype has been evaluated with various tests, and detailed analyses have been made on the reliability and user-friendly design of the system. This study presents important findings regarding the design and development process of automatic coffee machines and aims to guide future studies.