
Show HN: Personal Storage System with a PI - timgrossmann
https://github.com/timgrossmann/StorageSystem
======
drcross
Why do so many projects go straight into a technical description of their
solution without posing what the problem actually is. Here is the only
justification of why they are doing this project- "I want to build an
application, with which i can manage the items in my basement (preferably
groceries)".

What does this even mean? This trend frequently happens especially on HN and
it denies the reader a chance at weighing up the solution within context of
the problem.

~~~
moyta
He definitely could do a better job explaining what he is trying to
accomplish, but I pity the person who has to use the barcode scanner he
suggested, when you go below the $100 price point and are looking for a new in
box handheld scanner, there is just crap for options and you will get to sit
there and try to scan the same item repeatedly, until you give up and key
every 8th item in by hand.

I would highly recommend buying a used Metrologic or Datalogic handheld
scanner at or above $50, it'll work a lot better and (if programmed) can
usually handle 2D barcodes. This is the major reason you see Fred Meyers
spending $5k a pop on new Datalogic 9800i's, and why Walmart had the NCR 7878
custom built for them, scanning performance is a make it or break it deal.

On the Pi side, I'd sub in a OrangePi Plus 2E since it has 16GB of eMMC and
has a fully libre stack now at a lower cost, and would likely nab a used
monitor for $10 locally rather than pay for a low res 7" at a premium price.

~~~
timgrossmann
Thank you! I definitely will explain it better/in more detail.

Thank you for the advice with the hardware, I'm not yet too familiar with the
hardware side, but I'm learning and your feedback is really important to me,
thank you.

I tested the barcode scanner with quite a few products and thought it to be
pretty good for the money. I mean, for me it's a personal thing, so no need
for super high performance. If the item is already in the system, you can scan
2-3 times per second, which is pretty good i think.

I'll definitely look up the PI and monitor part thank you !

------
contingencies
This seems like an over-engineered solution to a non-problem. Formal stock
control is only useful if you have serious issues (eg. theft, very large
inventory, unidentifiable packages). The author could solve his problem by
simply keeping ketchup in the kitchen like sane people.

So in summary there is a barcode scanner, a Raspberry Pi and a screen. Where's
the label printer? Not quoted: still more cost! It would have been far cheaper
and more practical to install a new shelf.

~~~
timgrossmann
Hey, you're right. But since I'm a CS student who likes to try out and learn
stuff, over engineering is not a bad thing for me.

For a little home, we have an unnecessarily large inventory and it is really
comfortable to just look it up on the smartphone than take the staircase to
the basement and search through the stock :D

It's not just ketchup btw ;)

I'm still searching for an over engineered use case for my new label
printer... The printing with this system is simply done with a Wifi printer
nearly anyone (at least here in Germany) has at home. You can simply print a
list of all the stock and if you want even a simple groceries list of which
items are empty ;)

We installed a new shelf but once this one is full, you still got the problem.
I mean, you could add even more, but at one point the room is full and you're
back where you started :D

~~~
nacnud
Now you just need a little robot to fetch the things from your basement and
put them into a vacuum-tube delivery system.. :)

------
crudbug
Useful project.

How are you getting the product information ? Is there a public barcode
database ?

~~~
timgrossmann
Like already written, the information comes from Outpan... If the product
isn't already on outpan you're asked to enter the name of the product and a
new entry is created.

~~~
crudbug
It is a crowdsourced model.

I did check online for other API services [0..2] and GT1 [3] information.

[0] [http://www.ean-search.org/](http://www.ean-search.org/)

[1] [https://www.barcodelookup.com/api](https://www.barcodelookup.com/api)

[2] [http://eandata.com/](http://eandata.com/)

[3] [http://www.gs1.org/barcodes/ean-upc](http://www.gs1.org/barcodes/ean-upc)

------
jlgaddis
Finally, a use for my CueCat!

~~~
mszcz
I thought nobody remembered that!

~~~
TD-Linux
I used to have a couple I would attach to coworker's computers randomly to
confuse them. Doesn't work anymore because no one uses desktops with PS/2
ports...

~~~
mastre_
Time for an USB-to-PS/2 adapter!

~~~
Jaruzel
Those only work if the PS/2 device can 'switch' to USB mode. I very much doubt
the CueCat could ever do this.

------
teh_klev
> which led to me having 10 bottles of ketchup in my basement

I went through this problem for a while, the same with salad cream and toilet
paper :)

Could also be useful to add:

* an attribute that indicates how much of a thing has been used

* an item's age or purchase date

* the expiry date or best before date (yes, yes...I know these things aren't precise, and I decide if something is still good on the basis of does it look ok? does it smell ok? and common sense when it comes to fish/meat)

For example...when I occasionally make hummus, my part-used jar of tahini
paste ends up at the back of the cupboard where it gets forgotten about but is
still within its use-by date.

On the next trip to the supermarket, where I include ingredients to make
hummus, I end up buying another jar of tahini paste because a) I can't
remember if I still have tahini paste and b) if I do remember about that jar,
was it opened? how much is left? and is it still good?

Knowing the state of perishables, whether unopened or part used would help
save on waste and save money on unnecessary purchases.

Also I think a better name would be "Personal Stock Control", "Storage System"
makes me think of disks and data storage.

Just a thought or two.

~~~
timgrossmann
Haha, thank you for all the ideas. They are pretty cool! I knew I'm not the
only one with this kind of problem :D

Thank you for the idea with the new name. You're right, it sounds a bit more
suitable.

~~~
teh_klev
Now, just imagine if you could get it to order all the things you need and
have them delivered :)

------
JohnKacz
Cool. Looks like the housing/case is 3d printed, but it looked odd and I
didn't know what the "washing station" thing was. Now I learned about Polyjet
3D Printing.

~~~
timgrossmann
Thanks, the printer is an Objet30 3D Printer. The washing station is, like you
probably already know by now, to get rid of the support material.

------
libeclipse
It might just be me, but I don't actually understand what the project is. The
readme says since things about storage but I didn't get anything more.

~~~
timgrossmann
I'm sorry, i didn't explain it very well, i'll definitely fix that. Basically
the problem was, that we had a lot of groceries in large amounts while the
ones we needed weren't there at all. If we went shopping we mostly forgot to
check what we already have and bought even more of the things we already had,
forgetting the stuff we needed.

The Project therefore is a simple tool to scan your products and keep a list
of the things you have (with the amount). If you're on your way to the grocery
store and you realise, that you don't really know if you need this or that
product, you can simply VPN into your home network and check the stuff you
have at home.

Did this make it any clearer ?

~~~
Elvewyn
This is a problem I solved with a piece of paper and pencil (or a note keeping
app on my phone) :)

"I'm low on ketchup, better write that down."

I like the project, don't get me wrong, but for me personally it would just
add a layer of complexity.

~~~
timgrossmann
Haha, yeah I absolutely understand that.

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Sanddancer
Interesting project. Though first thing I'd say would be that this seems like
something that would be a natural for a touch screen. Given you're going to be
pulling most of the info from bar codes, you're not going to be typing very
long/often, and a keyboard would be added clutter for the majority of the
time.

~~~
timgrossmann
Yes, i thought about that in the beginning too. The problem i had was, that if
a product isn't already in the database (outpan), you have to enter the name
to add it.

I really dislike capacitive displays, especially writing on them and i think a
onscreen keyboard is also really annoying.

Right now i have a keyboard which has a little touchpad, to get rid of the
separate mouse.

But i also would prefer a touchscreen. Being spoiled from the nice keyboards
on smartphones and tablets, i couldn't live with a PC onscreen keyboard.

------
pingec
Wow, that is one expensive case. The cost of the material to print that on
default settings on that printer is 150 EUR.

~~~
timgrossmann
Well, good point. Forgot to add that, good thing i hadn't to pay that :D

Where did you look that up?

~~~
pingec
The Objet software tells you how much material will be used, then just
multiply with material price.

~~~
timgrossmann
Yes ok, thought you looked that up online.

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0xmohit
This reminded me of HomeMirror [0].

[0]
[https://github.com/HannahMitt/HomeMirror](https://github.com/HannahMitt/HomeMirror)

~~~
timgrossmann
Awesome project, would be interesting to add something like a leap motion to
make it controllable without smearing the mirror :D

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rhoads
This is a cool project, but I guess it could be a phone app that your entire
family could use collaboratively to scan, tag as used and add to a shopping
list.

~~~
timgrossmann
Thanks, these are some pretty nice ideas right there!

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weeefun
Looks like a cool project. But do I see this correctly that every time you're
adding AND removing something from your inventory, you need to scan it? :(

~~~
timgrossmann
Yes, that's the idea behind it. If you have an idea how to improve that, i
would love to hear it

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anotheryou
no finished picture?

~~~
agumonkey
A video wouldn't be out of order either.

~~~
timgrossmann
Good idea, will record one and add it to the project, Thanks

~~~
agumonkey
Thanks to you my sir.

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Normal_gaussian
Great project. Marking this as something to explore for our managing our
office storage.

~~~
timgrossmann
Haha, thank you. Let me know if you come across problems or bugs.

