The Smart Pill Box will be designed to organize the resident’s daily medications. Each time slot worth of medications will be combined in a single compartment and dispensed as a group. When it comes time for the resident to take their medication, the Smart Pill Box will send a voice notification through a smart speaker. The Smart Pill Box will dispense the pills into the dispense tray by spinning the spindle at the center of the device. Additionally, the Smart Pill Box will notify the caregiver whenever the pills have been dispensed and when the medications need to be refilled.
Requirements
- The Smart Pill Box must activate the Smart Speaker (through the Smart Hub) at a set time, notifying the resident that it’s time to take their medication and specifying what the medication is for.
- It shall have the capacity to hold multiple types of medications.
- The Smart Pill Box must send a notification to the caregiver once the medication has been dispensed.
- It shall also communicate to the caregiver when it’s time to refill the medications.
- The caregiver shall be able to enter the medication data into the Remote Support Station to set up the Smart Pill Box.
- Access to the Smart Pill Box medication data on the Remote Support Station/Hub must be password-protected.
- The Smart Pill Box shall be able to be positioned at an appropriate location and height to dispense pills to the resident in the wheelchair.
- The pill box wheel shall spin to the next slot at the designated time.
- The device should dispense pills so they slide out from the dispenser without falling on the floor.
- The Smart Pill Box must be manually openable by a caregiver in the event of a malfunction.
This is the main component used in holding and dispensing pills. The blocked slot will act as the closed position, and the other slots will spin over an opening to dispense their contents.
There is an AC to DC converter that takes power from the wall. A voltage converter steps the voltage down from the battery to match the same voltage. A diode blocks the power from leaving the battery to go to the circuit if there is wall power. There is a capacitor stabilizing the circuit current for when the power source switches. The Pi Pico W receives signals from the Smart Hub and uses those to control the motor driver. The motor driver controls the motor so pills are dispensed when we want them to.
| Qty | Description | Unit Price | Total Cost |
| 1 | MIKROE-1530 Motor | $9.60 | $9.60 |
| 1 | ULN2003 Stepper Motor Driver | $1.00 | $1.00 |
| 1 | Seasider 12V 2600mAh Rechargeable Li-ion Battery Pack | $20.99 | $20.99 |
| 1 | 100pF Capacitor | $0.13 | $0.13 |
| 1 | 16-00014 AC/DC Wall Adapter | $4.30 | $4.30 |
| 1 | PJ-063AH Power Jack | $1.98 | $1.98 |
| 1 | 95SQ015 Diode | $0.51 | $0.51 |
| 1 | PCB | $30 | $30 |
| 1 | Emergency PCB (Estimate) | $100.00 | $100.00 |
| 1 | Emergency Mechanical Design | $60 | $60.00 |
| Total | $204.29 |
Test Plan
Test T1 – Dispensing:
Provide power to the Smart Pill Box. Load up the spindle with pill substitutes. Set the pill box to dispense in 5 minutes. Set a timer on a stopwatch for 5 minutes.
Pass/Fail criteria: The pills are dispensed at the designated time and land in the tray.
Cover Requirements: 1, 2, 5, 8, 9
Test T2 – Emptying:
Provide power to the Smart Pill Box. Load up the spindle with pill substitutes. Connect the UART to the Pi Pico W. Send a command to trigger the pill box. Repeat six more times.
Pass/Fail criteria: The pill box sends a notification each time a pill is dispensed and one notification when the pillbox is empty.
Cover Requirements: 3, 4
Test T3 – Information:
Provide power to the Smart Pill Box. Connect the Smart Pill Box to the Smart Hub. Provide power to the Remote Support Station. Connect the Remote Support Station to the Smart Hub. Navigate the menu of the Remote Support Station to the Smart Pill Box menu. Set a pill to be dispensed in one minute. Go to the main menu and wait for the notification. After it is received, navigate back to the Smart Pill Box menu and look for the medical information.
Pass/Fail criteria: The health information can be accessed from the Remote Support Station.
Cover Requirements: 6
Test T4 – Access:
Provide power to the Smart Pill Box. Place the Smart Pill Box on a table. Place a pill substitute in the first slot of the spindle. Access the Remote Support Station and set a pill to be dispensed in three minutes. Bring a chair over and sit in it to simulate a wheelchair. When the pill is dispensed, ball your fingers into fists and try to remove the pill without uncurling your fingers.
Pass/Fail criteria: The tester is able to remove the pill substitute from the tray.
Cover Requirements: 7
Test T5 – Openable:
Place two pill substitutes in the first two slots of the Smart Pill Box spindle. Close the lid of the pill box. Bring a third party product tester into the room. Instruct them to attempt to open the pill box. If they succeed, instruct them to remove the spindle. If they succeed in removing the spindle, instruct them to remove the pill substitutes.
Pass/Fail criteria: The pill substitutes are able to be removed without additional instruction.
Cover Requirements: 10
| Requirements | ||||||||||
| Tests | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
| T1 – Dispensing | x | x | x | x | x | |||||
| T2 – Emptying | x | x | ||||||||
| T3 – Information | x | |||||||||
| T4 – Access | x | |||||||||
| T5 – Openable | x | |||||||||