A credit-based vending machine

'Credit Based Vending Machine', a project by four BUET students,Ali Muhit Mustaquim, Ishat Raihan Jamil, Monoranjan Debnath Rony and Aminul Islam Olin, won the inter-university competition titled, Esonance 2019, recently. The competition was organised by IUT and 25 groups have participated in the competition this year.

Students queued in line waiting for a mid-day snack-time during a 15-minute recess, this is a common scenario in most school canteens. To avoid this hassle, third year students of BUET's mechanical engineering department designed and developed this project under one of their university courses in a short span of five months. Each of them worked on specific segments and later, assembled it together.

The students need to use their student ID as a credit card to purchase snacks from vending machines. However, returning the change after a product is difficult in a conventional vending machine. It also does not accept torn improper notes. 

To get rid of this issue, the aspiring engineers came up with this innovation. Products are sold on credit on their vending machine. This vending machines can be operated online using internet. Purchase records are kept in a server and email is sent as a purchase receipt to the students after every purchase. A unique 3-digit pin is required to verify the identification card, in order to proceed with the purchase.

This machine also has an anti-theft and ID blocking system. A student will be unable to access any product if they do not clear their dues after a certain period. The machine was showcased in the event for public testing. More than 40 people tried using it on that day. The machine was able to sell products to all those who have successfully managed to follow all the steps properly.

Being an innovative discovery, this project shows promise for students all over Bangladesh.