Sixth Form Students Build Smart Device to Fight Food Waste in UCL IoT Outreach Programme

Under the mentorship of Dr Elia Gatti, Dr Akin Delibasi and Dr Valerio Modugno a group of Year 12 A level students from Clapton Girls’ Academy have developed an exciting prototype designed to solve a real-world problem: food spoilage and waste due to improper storage.

Since the project kicked off in January, students Noor, Hannah, and Evanaa have been attending weekly sessions, diving deep into research, design, and creative problem-solving. Their result? Cubby — a smart cupboard that actively monitors and maintains optimal conditions for storing ingredients.

Who Are the Creators?

The team consists of three passionate STEM students, all interested in pursuing careers in technology and engineering. Their project reflects not only technical skill but a real commitment to sustainability and smart living.

What Inspired Cubby?

The idea stemmed from Noor’s love of baking and frustration with ingredients going off too quickly. Combined with research into the broader issue of food waste, the team saw an opportunity to make a difference with smart storage.

The Tech Behind Cubby

• DHT22 sensors monitor temperature and humidity inside the cupboard.
• An Arduino microcontroller processes data and controls a fan and humidifier, keeping conditions just right.
• A 3D-printed casing, POP tubes for cable management, and a vacuum cup base round out a thoughtful and user-friendly design.

Smarts + Control

Cubby doesn’t just react — it communicates. The team built an intuitive mobile app using MIT App Inventor, which connects via Bluetooth and allows for both live monitoring and manual control. The logic behind Cubby is written in JS using the Arduino IDE, creating a responsive feedback loop that runs in real time.

Impact & Vision

Cubby goes beyond convenience. It’s designed to reduce household food waste, improve hygiene, and even support specialised kitchen processes like fermentation and baking. With potential for future integration into smart home ecosystems, Cubby represents an exciting leap into the future of domestic tech.

The students have demonstrated remarkable initiative, collaboration, and innovation — all hallmarks of the UCL IoT programme. We’re incredibly proud of what they’ve achieved and can’t wait to see where their talents take them next.

“This programme showed us that we’re capable of more than we thought — we learned how to build real technology, solve problems creatively, and most importantly, believe in our ideas. It’s inspired all of us to keep pushing forward in STEM.”

— Noor, Hannah & Evanaa, Year 12 students, Clapton Girls’ Academy

 Congratulations to Noor, Hannah, and Evanaa on creating Cubby!