Development of an IoT-Based Public Smart Dispenser for Digital Water Services with Cashless Payment and Water Endowment Features

Abstract

This study aims to develop and evaluate an Internet of Things (IoT)-based Public Smart Dispenser (PSD) system that provides automated public water refill services through cashless payment integration, real-time monitoring, and web-based management. The system was developed using a system development approach consisting of requirement analysis, hardware and software design, prototype development, system integration, and field evaluation. The proposed PSD integrates an ESP32-based embedded system, QRIS-based digital payment, water-level monitoring, flow measurement, GPS tracking, and a web-based monitoring platform. System functionality was evaluated using black-box testing, while operational performance was analyzed using validated transaction logs collected during field deployment. The results show that the PSD successfully implemented automated dispensing, digital transactions, real-time monitoring, location tracking, and transaction management features. During 810 days of field deployment, the system recorded 9,360 validated completed transactions with no recorded dispensing failures for successfully completed dispensing events and delivered approximately 4,643 liters of drinking water through paid-water and free-water services. This study demonstrates the feasibility of integrating IoT, digital payment, and cloud-based monitoring technologies into public water service infrastructure. The main contribution of this research is the development and long-term field validation of an IoT-based public water dispensing platform supported by real operational data, providing practical evidence beyond laboratory-based prototype testing.