Thai Dinh Chinh CV
All work
Product · IoT

Electratech — IoT smart power outlet with AI energy optimisation

From market need to working proof-of-concept in a hackathon: an IoT smart power outlet that learns user behaviour and optimises energy use with AI.

Electratech — IoT smart power outlet with AI energy optimisation
Role
Project Owner & Developer
Timeline
12/2023 – 02/2024
Team
5 members
Event
DUT Hackathon 2023 — Tech in Real Life
Stack
IoT · AI recommendation · mobile app
Context

Hackathon: Tech in Real Life

At DUT Hackathon 2023, our team set out to reduce household energy waste with a smart power outlet that recommends and automates energy-saving behaviour.

Problem

Energy waste from habits nobody tracks

  • Households waste electricity through standby devices and unmonitored usage patterns.
  • Existing smart plugs switch devices on and off but do not learn from behaviour or recommend savings.
  • We had to define real market needs and product behaviour before building anything.
My role

Owner of the product definition and integration

  • Researched the market need and defined product behaviour.
  • Handled analysis, prototyping and integration between the IoT outlet, the AI recommendation logic and the app.
  • Contributed to the prototype demo and documentation for the judges.
Process

Hackathon-speed product discovery

STEP 01

Research

Market needs and user pain points; competitor smart-plug behaviour.

STEP 02

Define

Product behaviour: what the outlet measures, learns, recommends and automates.

STEP 03

Prototype

IoT outlet + behaviour-based AI energy optimisation + app screens (usage, money, providers).

STEP 04

Integrate

Connected hardware, recommendation logic and app into one demo flow.

STEP 05

Pitch

Demo and documentation for the hackathon jury.

Artifacts

What we produced

Market & product definitionNeeds, target users and product behaviour.
Working IoT prototypeSmart outlet with AI-driven energy optimisation.
App concept screensUsage, cost and provider recommendations.
Pitch & documentationDemo narrative and technical documentation.
Outcome

Proof-of-concept delivered

PoC
practical proof-of-concept for energy-saving features
5
person team, end-to-end in ~2 months
IoT + AI
hardware, recommendation logic and app integrated
Demo
pitched at DUT Hackathon 2023
Learnings

Takeaways

  • Defining product behaviour first made a five-person team move like a much larger one.
  • Integration is where hackathon projects die — planning it from day one is what made the demo work.
  • A clear story of user need → behaviour → benefit is as important as the code.