RubDock

How it fits together

RubDock, part by part

Scroll or tap a part. Press “See the 3D CAD design” to watch the model, built from our CAD, light each part up and show how it connects.

See the 3D CAD designShow the concept

Real-time 3D render · drag to rotate · final design may varySwipe sideways to rotate

1. 01

   The whole RubDock

   A scale under a door sanitiser dispenser counts rubs by weight; a door sensor counts entries; a ward gateway matches the two.

2. 02Brain

   XIAO ESP32-C3 (Dock)

   The brain: it runs the rubdock-dock-fw program

3. 

   03

   TAL220B load cell

   Feels each dose leave the dispenser, to a quarter of a gram

   XIAO ESP32-C3 (Dock) · 4 wires to HX711 · Tiny strain signal

4. 04

   HX711 amplifier

   Turns the cell signal into a 24-bit weight reading

   XIAO ESP32-C3 (Dock) · GPIO clock and data · Weight readings

5. 05

   Amber LOW LED

   Blinks briefly when the bottle is under 15% full

   XIAO ESP32-C3 (Dock) · GPIO pin · On/off blink

6. 06

   Two 18650 cells

   Run the Dock about 184 days per charge (estimate)

   XIAO ESP32-C3 (Dock) · Battery charger input · Power

7. 07

   DoorTally door counter

   Counts people in and out at the door with a distance sensor

   XIAO ESP32-C3 · ESP-NOW radio · IN and OUT timestamps

8. 08

   All connected

   6 key parts, one program, and your phone

The idea

A dock behind the ward's own hand-rub dispenser weighs every rub, and a jamb counter turns it into rubs per room entry

How the parts connect

RubDock, wired up

Every part, what links it to the brain, and how the data reaches your phone. A solid line is a cable; a dashed line is a radio link.

The program

What controls RubDock

void loop() {                                // runs after each 10 s deep-sleep wake
    w = hx711_avg(5);
    if (w - last_weight > 500) refill_reset(w);          // bottle swapped
    else if (spread() > 0.5f || w > last_weight) discard(); // hand or push
    else if (last_weight - w >= 0.25f && held_next_wake(w))
        bin_add(now_bin(), last_weight - w);          // mass of one dose
    last_weight = w;
    digitalWrite(LED_LOW, percent_left() < 15 && millis_blink());
    if (report_due() || percent_left() < 15)
        esp_now_send(GATEWAY_MAC, pack_bins(), sizeof(bins));
    esp_deep_sleep(10 * 1000000);
}

To your phone

How the data reaches RubDock unit report

Browser on any device

1. Dock and DoorTally
2. ESP-NOW long range
3. Ward gateway
4. MQTT over TLS
5. Cloud report

Key specs

Targets for production units; they may change during development.

Pricing

Target pricing. The $99 Dock alone gives refill alerts only. Parts cost is about $95 per room at qty 1 and about $45 at qty 1,000 (est.).

Indicative launch pricing in USD, excluding taxes and shipping. Final pricing is confirmed before any balance is charged.

1. 29 Oct 2026, 11:55LatestHospitals measure hand hygiene by watching staff, and covert observers measured 50% where auditors reported 84%; electronic systems cost about $450-650 per bed a year and need the maker's own dispensers, while the Leapfrog standard asks for 200 observed moments per unit a month (RubDock DESIGN.md market check).

   • Drawn idea plan (idea.json): a hospital ward corridor from above with four patient rooms, a hand-rub dispenser at each door, the nurse station and the infection prevention office; pins for the RubDock and DoorTally at room 1, the same kit at room 2, the ward gateway and the team's report
   • The product picture is now this drawn plan instead of the plain fallback card; drawn from the design notes, not the CAD
   • What the plan keeps from the market work: it works with any brand of dispenser, the counter sits on the jamb (an overhead sensor sees only 17-36% of the door), and it counts and reports only, with no claim about infections
   • Next: close-out C5 (buyer review prep for sports) from 12:00; then C6 to C8 for home, kids learning and industries

   See it in 3DFull research and design

2. 27 Oct 2026, 03:45Owner decision (27 Oct 2026): merge our single-job products into multi-job devices.

   • New product page: https://iemilabs.com/products/bedside/

   See it in 3DFull research and design

3. 25 Oct 2026, 08:30Human observers are biased (covert 50% vs auditor 84%) and Leapfrog wants 200 opportunities per unit per month → every entry and every rub is counted on every shift, and the export gives the opportunity count

   • New design: 4 printed parts in code CAD, bought parts fit-checked
   • Market research, hardware list and use case written up
   • Design page and kit render published
   • Product page added

   See it in 3DFull research and design