One in a Laundry List of Ways to Serve

The laundry list of new and demanding experiences at college is long. One challenge for those students living on campus that should not be minimized is the monster that is actual laundry. The laundry rooms of Clarke, Pearce, Memorial, McKee, the Houses, and the Apartments can be a puzzle for the unsuspecting student. Timing each load perfectly is a tricky task to achieve. Two Geneva students, Computer Engineering and Computer Science major, Tim Johnson and Mechanical Engineering major, Michael Parkinson had enough of guessing; they developed an app that lets students know when their laundry is done.

The result was called LINT (Laundry Information Notification Technology), a project conceived by Michael Field, then president of the Computer & Electrical Engineering Club and developed by Johnson and Parkinson. Students used to walk up and down several flights of steps in the apartments where Parkinson is a resident to check their laundry. Many trips were unfruitful because the laundry cycle was not complete or the machines were in use.  With their program, Johnson and Parkinson end the guessing game by automatically detecting when a laundry load is done and then notifying students by text message.

Johnson describes the goal of this project in this way, “To make doing laundry more convenient for students by not only notifying them when it is done, but by also having a website (and eventually a mobile app) that lets them check the status of all machines in the laundry room. It can also be useful outside of dorms; since I am a commuter, I can't use LINT on campus but I have it installed for the washer and dryer at my house.”

LINT hardware consists of a Raspberry Pi microcomputer and touchscreen (called a kiosk) installedin the laundry room. Magnetic sensors connected to the computer are attached to the power cords of the washers and dryers to detect electrical current flowing through the cables in a non-invasive way. The computer monitors the statuses of the machines and communicates them to the LINT website (https://mylint.net) over the Internet. The 7-inch touchscreen has an interface where users can see the status of each machine and sign in to get notified when their laundry is done. There is also a card reader so students can log in easily with their Geneva student ID.

"Every once in a while, a new technology, an old problem, and a big idea turn into an innovation"
-Dean Kamen, engineer, inventor, and businessman

The care and interest for other people is a major reason Johnson and Parkinson felt a call to use their skills to create this program.  Through practical application of Geneva classes and the collaborative efforts of the Computer & Electrical Engineering Club, LINT continues its development at Geneva College. 

To find more information on or to use this program, go to the LINT website: https://mylint.net .

From the Geneva Blog 
Geneva Program Spotlight: Department of Communication

It’s fair to say that there’s never been a time in which clear and deliberate communication has been more important. Constant technological advances and the phenomenal rise of social media have made the lightning-speed sharing of information — and opinions —an everyday global occurrence.

Geneva’s Department of Communication is passionate about providing students with the skills, insights, perspectives and knowledge to become effective, competent and wise communicators. Equally important, we encourage students to integrate their Christian faith with communication. We believe we are merely the stewards of God’s gift of communication. As such, we’re called to use communication creatively and compassionately to bridge differences of culture, embody servant leadership and transform society for the kingdom of Christ. More >>