Introduction: MESH: Rating System With Internet-Connected Buttons

By MESH project
About: MESH is the easiest way to plug a project into the Internet of Things (IoT). With out-of-the-box connectivity, MESH wireless sensors can connect any project to other hardware devices and the internet instantly…

What if restaurants or other businesses could collect customer feedback on the spot and instantly sync it with a spreadsheet?

This recipe is a quick and simple way to create your own interactive rating system. Just grab a set of internet-connected buttons to get started. We’ve built a five-star-scale rating system using MESH Buttons and If This Then That (“IFTTT”).

Overview:

  • Launch the MESH app (Available on Android and iOS)
  • Setup each MESH Button with specific value on the rating scale
  • Link MESH Buttons to Google Sheets on IFTTT
  • Optional: Build your own board to hold and display buttons
  • Launch and collect ratings data in a Google Sheet

Step 1: Ingredients

Suggested:

Optional:

  • 2mm piece of wood which can be customized on laser cutter (Alternative: plastic or strong paper)
  • Strong double-sided tape
  • Paint or markers
  • Scissors

Step 2: Prep MESH App and IFTTT

  • Sign up for IFTTT and activate MESH on your account
    • On the MESH app drag an IFTTT icon onto the canvas.
    • Tap the IFTTT icon to open the settings and view your unique IFTTT key.
    • On IFTTT open the MESH channel and use the IFTTT key from the MESH app to activate and link the MESH channel on your IFTTT account.

Step 3: Create the Recipe in the MESH App.

  • Drag five MESH Button icons and five IFTTT icons onto the canvas in the MESH app.
  • Connect each MESH Button icon to a corresponding IFTTT icon

MESH Button icon settings:

  • Tap each MESH Button icon to set to the "Press" function

IFTTT icon settings:

  • Tap each IFTTT icon to set to "Send"
  • Event ID - Create an Event ID like "Ratings" (use the same Event ID for all five IFTTT icons in this recipe/on the canvas)
  • Text - Enter custom text for each IFTTT icon that corresponds to the value you'd like to use for the MESH Button that is linked to the IFTTT icon. (This is the data that will be logged in the Google Sheets. We recommend using something simple like "1 Star", "2 Stars", "3 Star", "4 Stars", "5 Stars".)
  • Optional: Send other data like the date or time of each button press to Google Sheets. To do so, tap "Data to Share" above the Text section to select and share various types of data.

Step 4: Set Up a New Applet on IFTTT

Launch the IFTTT app or visit IFTTT.com:

  • Open My Applets and select "New Applet" or the "+" sign
  • "+THIS" - Choose MESH channel on IFTTT and select "Event from MESH app received" trigger
    • Enter the Event ID you created for the recipe on MESH app.
  • "+That" - Choose Google Drive - "add one row to a spreadsheet" in Google Sheets
  • Save applet

Step 5: Launch & Collect Data