Gumball machines hold a wonderful memory for many. They've captivating designs which immediately catch your attention. Some even play sound effects. Many are associated with prizes such as a phrase printed on a gumball which allows you to win something (In my case... it was a free movie rental)!
However as the world progresses we are seeing a rise in new payment options and less availability of coinage. It's rare that I ever have a quarter on me which becomes a heartbreaking situation for my poor daugther every time we pass a machine.
That's where this project comes in. Raspberry pi + Arduino + AWS lambda functions == a new way to dispense gumballs without harming the original machine.
Features include:
1) Automatic emails: just turn on the pi and it lets you know its states
2) Automatic sync: the pi registers it's IP in AWS so we know where to redirect request
3) Accepts all payments which transmits webhooks (think Coinbase, Venmo)
4) Accepts change