Shared Water Dispenser Mini-Program

Shared Water Dispenser IoT Platform: Background & Client Needs

Across residential communities and campuses, demand for quality purified drinking water is strong, yet legacy water vending machines suffer from coin-payment inconvenience, opaque water quality and untimely filter replacement — and operators lack visibility into real per-site volume and revenue. A water-equipment operator planning a new generation of shared dispensers needed a platform supporting scan-to-dispense, volume-based billing and remote device management. Juhui Software delivered this WeChat mini-program and IoT platform as a custom build.

Solution Overview: An Integrated Hardware-Software-Cloud Water Solution

The solution is an IoT system for shared drinking-water scenarios with three ends: a user WeChat mini-program (scan to dispense, online payment), the dispenser device end (flow metering and water-quality sensing), and a cloud operations console (device monitoring, filter management and analytics). Devices deploy across communities and campuses; users scan, choose a volume and settle automatically per liter.

Core Feature Modules

• Scan-to-dispense with per-liter billing: users scan, select a volume and are billed precisely on actual dispensed liters — no coins needed.
• Real-time TDS water-quality monitoring: TDS readings report per device in real time; anomalies trigger alerts and automatic offline suspension.
• Filter-life management: the platform tracks each filter stage per device and raises replacement tickets automatically at end of life.
• Multi-site operations dashboard: volume and revenue aggregated per location support placement and withdrawal decisions.
• Remote device maintenance: remote status checks, dispense control and parameter pushes cut inspection costs.

Technical Architecture Highlights

Dispensers connect over 4G to the cloud via MQTT, reporting flow, TDS and filter status while receiving dispense commands. The flow meter and solenoid valve work in tandem for precise per-liter metering; devices cache transactions offline and reconcile after reconnection. The mini-program integrates WeChat Pay, supporting both prepaid and postpaid settlement. The cloud manages filter-replacement strategies per device, and the ticketing system connects to a maintenance staff mini-program, closing the loop on every filter change.

Results & Data After Launch

Since launch, per-liter billing has replaced coins and cards, greatly improving the user experience. Real-time water-quality monitoring lets the operator detect abnormal devices immediately and take them offline proactively, and automatic filter-life reminders ensure every cup passes through qualified filtration stages. The operations dashboard clearly presents per-site volume and revenue, helping the operator retire low-performing sites and densify high-demand areas — steadily growing overall revenue while markedly improving filter-replacement punctuality and reducing user complaints.