EasyPill

A convenient device that automatically dispenses medication on a pre-programmed schedule through companion apps

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Inspiration

Some of our group members had noticed the struggles of people who had dementia. Particularly when they were taking important medication that they couldn't miss.

We were inspired to help people who may have trouble remembering to take important medication by building both a smart robotic dispenser that automatically dispenses pills on a set schedule, and an online dashboard to configure and monitor this robotic dispenser.

What it does

EasyPill is a comprehensive dispensing system that is able to notify a user to take their medicine and automatically dispense it when appropriate. It is also a safe storage solution for medication, since all pills are hidden behind the dispensing mechanisms.

To add a dispensing schedule, users simply log on to the web app and then add a new dosage using the intuitive menu. Users can also manually dispense medication when required at the click of a button through the android app.

How we built it

We built the dispenser with an arduino and a few servo motors that rotate in tandem to dispense the pill.

The online dashboard was built with React using Evergreen UI and Firebase a backend. There was also a node backend that serialized the Firebase data and sent it to the dispenser through a serial connection.

In the beginning, we had built an Android application to control the dispenser, but it only has part-functionality

Challenges we ran into

We had a particularly tough time making bluetooth work on our android application as well as passing data through the server to our arduino.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

For many of our members, this was their 1st or 2nd hackathon and this was the first time they'd completed an hack. We were quite pleased that we could build a responsive application that could interface with both a database, and a real-world robotic dispenser.

What we learned

  • Probably a good idea to bring a wifi module with you
  • Android studio is pretty convoluted
  • Arduinos like to burn out and break

What's next for EasyPill

We'd like to turn this into a fully-fledged system that is capable of identifying multiple types of pills using AI and dispensing them dynamically

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