
Smart Automatic Pill Dispenser
A smart device that helps remind and dispense your medication
My group members, Matthew Swenson, Christian Kuss, and I tackled our final freshman Cornerstone of Engineering project prompt, to "Use robotic elements to build something useful," with medication adherence in mind. A great deal of people have to juggle lots of medication which can become very overwhelming, especially for older audiences. We set off to create a device that would...
- remind users to take their pills through different mediums
- dispense the correct number of pills accurately
- provide an easy way for caretakers to customize and change their dispensed medication
- include smart features and communication with Alexa/Google Home
Final project showcase video
Initial Prototype
We built this in order to test out basics mechanisms and to get a feel/scale of the device's possible shape.
Rotating Disk Dispenser Design
After doing some research and brainstorming, we decided to go forth with a design utilizing a disk with a hole big enough to catch a single pill.
Modular Pill Disk Size
In order to accommodate for pills of varying sizes, we thought to incorporate interchangeable disks with holes of varying lengths, according to standardized pill sizes
Assembly and LED's
For the final project's presentation, we built a much nicer looking frame and included LED's to enhance the device's aesthetic.
Water Dispensing Mechanism
To do our best to dispense water, we thought of simply using a water balloon valve and attaching it to a servo to open/close the valve.
Results
After a successful presentation and great remarks from our and professor and classmates alike, my team and I were happy with the work we accomplished. We decided to submit out project to a online competition and to our surprise, won first prize and had been given the opportunity to compete in a competition abroad in China! With the opportunities presented in front of myself and my team, we had decided to continue working on this project to take it somewhere further and have been working on its development ever since. Click here to see the status of this project now!
Skills
- Mechanical design development and prototyping
- 3D Modelling
- Woodworking
- Arduino
Pictures of internal circuitry and exterior