Schulthess Maschinen AG is a long-established Swiss company that produces and develops washing machines and dryers for private households, apartment blocks and industrial enterprises. Schulthess stands for top quality both in technology and customer services, combining this with innovative spirit and sustainable production planning.

Schulthess has recently developed a laundry machine with an integrated cashless payment system. Such laundry machines are usually found in buildings with special laundry rooms used by all tenants. But there is no need anymore to get hold of the precise amount of coins one needs for a washing cycle. People's everyday life is about to become a lot easier with this ESP32-based laundry machine! It combines the power, stability and security of ESP32’s IoT performance, the flexibility of Mongoose OS and the precision of Swiss technology that Schulthess has been renowned for since its establishment.

All the required components are integrated within the “washMaster”. ESP32 is the embedded microcontroller which is responsible for the communication with the machine controller, the radio frequency identification (RFID) reader and the backend system. ESP32 reports the machine-status information, while also managing the price list and handling the machine configuration as well as payments, refunds and balance checks.

This is yet another example of the many advantages that ESP32 has in embedded systems. As a combo Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip, it is able to maintain a secure and robust connection, while also guaranteeing reliable system function, ultra-low-power consumption and a great level of integration. ESP32 adds priceless functionality and versatility to all the applications in which it is embedded.

Further to this, Mongoose OS is used on the ESP32 chip. According to Michael Schwetz, a lead Software Engineer and Project Manager at Schulthess, “Mongoose OS provided most of the required features, like communication to IoT Clouds out-of-the-box. There was no need to think about device configuration, Over-The-Air firmware updates and remote procedure calls. Plus, we are still free to use other hardware or IoT backend in the future.”

Based on the stable performance of the ESP32 modules, Schulthess used the OTA update capability from the very first prototype, which helped throughout the development phases by working reliably all the time. So, customers can now enjoy a complete solution to cashless payment systems for laundry machines. No coins are necessary and neither are any extra personnel costs, due to a sleek automated system. The digital operation of cashless payments for laundry-machine washing has never been more secure, easy and cost-effective!

You can find more information about ESP32 here, the Mongoose OS here and about the new washMaster here.