MoodBuddy

Inspiration

College life can get stressful, and it’s easy to forget to take care of yourself. Mood Buddy was inspired by the idea of building a supportive companion that reacts to your environment and reminds you to breathe, stretch, and smile. Which brings a bit of emotional intelligence into hardware form.

What it does

Detects motion using a PIR sensor to greet you when you sit down.

Monitors noise levels with a sound sensor and reminds you to calm down when things get too loud.

Responds to button inputs (happy, sad, or calm) with matching expressions, melodies, and uplifting messages.

Displays animated faces on the OLED screen and text messages on the LCD screen.

Encourages healthy habits with gentle reminders every 30 minutes to stretch or take a break.

How we built it

We built Mood Buddy using an Arduino Mega, an OLED display for expressive eyes, an LCD screen for short motivational messages, and a buzzer for cheerful sounds. Sensors like a PIR motion sensor and sound detector allow the bot to react to the user’s presence and environment. The code combines motion detection, button inputs for moods, and timing functions to display animations and reminders throughout the day.

Challenges we ran into

One major challenge was balancing the timing and responsiveness of different sensors so that the bot felt natural without freezing or missing inputs. Another was designing clear, readable facial expressions on the small OLED display. I also spent time fine-tuning the sound sensitivity to ensure it reacted properly without false triggers.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We’re proud of creating a project that goes beyond just technology. This is because Mood Buddy brings warmth and positivity into a student’s everyday routine. It successfully combines sensors, sound, and visuals to respond naturally to emotions and surroundings, which was both challenging and rewarding to achieve.

What we learned

We learned how to integrate multiple sensors and outputs to make a single interactive system feel natural and responsive. Working with motion detection, sound input, and button controls taught us how to manage timing, avoid delays, and keep everything running smoothly with millis().

What's next for MoodBuddy

Next, we plan to make Mood Buddy even smarter and more personalized. We want to add Bluetooth or Wi-Fi connectivity so it can sync with a phone or computer to track study habits and send gentle reminders. Future versions could include more advanced emotion detection using facial recognition or heart rate sensors to better understand how the user feels. We also hope to design a 3D-printed case to give Mood Buddy a friendlier appearance and make it portable for dorm rooms or study spaces. Ultimately, our goal is to turn it into an affordable, accessible companion that helps students everywhere take care of their mental well-being in small but meaningful ways.