Pill M.D. (medical dispenser)

The wristband prototype that emits a noise and blinks.
Pillbox with LCD Display that tells you when it's time to your medicine.
Pillbox with LCD Display that tells you when it's time to your medicine.

Project Name

Pill M.D

Table Number

E-2

Description

A pill dispenser that reminds you to take your medicine through an LCD display and a wristband.

Inspiration

I lived with my grandmother growing up. She'd normally have to take many pills multiple times a day. As she was quite old, she'd often forget to take her medicine which was quite critical for her health. This problem is not exclusive to just her but to many elderly and disabled people, especially those living on their own. This pillbox was created as a solution to this problem faced by many people.

What it does

The Pill M.D. reminds the user to take their medicine bi-daily through a wristband that blinks and emits a sound twice at a certain time and displays a reminder from the pillbox itself. Once the user finishes taking their medicine, they press a button to indicate that they have taken the medicine needed for that day.

How we built it

We built each component separately. Some members worked on the LCD display, others worked on the ESB transceiver. One member was even able to use their Solidworks experience to 3D print the actual pillbox!

Challenges we ran into

We built the circuits and wrote the code for each component. However, when we merged them together, conflicts occurred, and we had to resolve them by changing certain circuit configurations and refining and re-testing the code.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

The majority of the group are not that experienced with using hardware, but we were able to learn by using online resources and teamwork.

What we learned

We learned how software and hardware work together in a real-world application. We also got to work with many different components such as the LCD display and ESB transceiver. It was also an eye-opening experience to put theoretical knowledge gained from classes and hobbyist learning into practice.

Sources Used:

Arduino.cc
https://howtomechatronics.com/tutorials/arduino/arduino-wireless-communication-nrf24l01-tutorial/

What's next for Pill MD (medical dispenser)

In the future, we would like it to be automatically refilled to improve its productivity. We would also like to integrate the clock in real-time and possibly make an app that keeps track of the routine.