RaspberryArduino Vending Machine

[RetroPi_party[]]

Hi there,

I'm in the process of wanting to make a vending machine using the RaspberryPi and Arduino. It ( the machine ) should be able to accept cards via a magnetic strip ID card reader and the user should be able to purchase and choose at least two diffrent types of cans of drink.

With this said, would this equipment be correct to use? I'm fairly new at hardware and Arduino so any help and advice people can offer would be greatly received. A mini-fridge ( gutted out ), LED screen, keypad, card reader, Pi and Arduino, motors ( not sure where to get these from and the type? , metal or wooden planks to divide the inside of the fridge and to hold the drinks etc...If there is anything else people can think of please say!

On the code side of things I'd be using various APIs, including a bitcoin API somewhere. I'd be using Python to connect and check everything and using ethernet to connect to a database online for purchase reasons. Might even try and replace the card reader and use the NFC in most phones or by an app? Might cheapen things up?

Cheers,
Matthew

[FLYFISH TECHNOLOGIES]

Hi, Matthew,

Your description is very high-level...
[joke mode on]If I may "convert" it to a message suitable for "Car forum", it would be like this:
I'm planning to visit my friend and would take a car. Do you thing that a car is proper transportation ? If you have any suggestions, please let me know.[joke mode off]

You obviously need some more technical knowledge (for development and also for various maintenance tasks later on, to keep the business going)... So, take any board and start your project. The first few versions will be total disaster, but you will gain knowledge. And at some later iteration, when you'll throw blueprints of previous versions away, you will suddenly know what board(s) to take, what programming language you'll get familiar with by then, etc. Then you can start "real" product development.

Keep in mind: selecting some initial boards and programming language does not guarantee that you'll make a good product (from technical perspective)... this could be just 10% or so... Focus on knowledge - experiment, try this and that, google around what people have already done and WHY they took the listed path. Don't absolutely rely to responses on some very particular questions, because the overall picture defines if some desicion/soluiton is suitable, or not.


Best wishes, Ivan Zilic.