Smart Home Nespresso Coffee Machine with Amazon Echo - 2016

An Amazon Echo Alexa skill communicates with a Nespresso Vertuoline machine via internet-connected Arduino Yun.
 

Before we pitched a major coffee company I was given one of their coffee machines to hack. I wanted to extend its capabilities so that it could integrate with the smart home via Amazon Echo and go beyond anything Nespresso offers in its current line of products.

I connected the machine to an Arduino Yún via a 5V relay switch. The Yún has a web server and REST API built in, so it's great for prototyping IoT apps. This allowed me to make coffee using just an API call. Then I developed an Amazon Echo app to make coffee using voice control.

Now when a user speaks a phrase such as, "Alexa, tell my coffee maker to make me some coffee," the machine will instantly begin making a cup of coffee.

Role

  • Concept

  • Interaction Design

  • Engineering

Technology

  • Alexa skill with AWS Lambda (NodeJS)

  • Amazon Echo

  • Modified Nespresso Vertuoline

  • Arduino Yún running web server and DDNS

  • 5V relay switch

The coffee machine is powered by an Arduino Yún via a 5V relay module.

The coffee machine is powered by an Arduino Yún via a 5V relay module.

To hack the coffee machine, I identified the power and ground wires that connected to the Start button, a simple momentary switch. I clipped the wires and plugged them into the relay.

To hack the coffee machine, I identified the power and ground wires that connected to the Start button, a simple momentary switch. I clipped the wires and plugged them into the relay.