"Science Minions" – Citizen Science Learning Platform | Hackathon Project

Click here to see the Devpost!

Overview

Science Minions is a citizen science platform designed to make research more accessible by connecting volunteers with researchers. Developed for a 24-hour Civic Hacks Hackathon, our project won the “Best Use of MongoDB” prize.

Our platform connects researchers with volunteers, who can perform tasks to help researchers around the world. While some tasks involve simple observations, others require precise measurements. To support these cases, I developed a turnkey IoT device that can be checked out from libraries or public spaces, allowing users to effortlessly collect and transmit real-time data without dealing with the underlying technical complexities.

The prototype features an ESP32 microcontroller equipped with temperature, humidity, moisture, and air quality sensors. It hosts a built-in web server that gathers data and transmits it via WiFi to our remote server, where it is stored in MongoDB and visualized live on our platform. Future plans include cellular IoT connectivity for remote deployments and expanded sensor capabilities for greater research flexibility.