caterPiLLer

Aviv Hirsch

Taking daily medication is stigmatized and often uncomfortable. The CaterPILLer makes taking medication a positive experience by introducing an element of personality. This pillbox creates a connection between it and it's user unlike the more utilitarian pillboxes currently available. The CaterPILLer has an alarm clock system that helps users remember to take their pills. When it is time to take medication the CaterPILLer will wake up and remind the user by smiling with its screen face, having its LED antennas light up, and chirping happily. If the CaterPILLer is kept waiting it will slowly become both angry and sad, creating motivation to keep on schedule. This works by adding an element of responsibility. Humans have an evolutionary instinct to take care of cute things, stemming from their need to take care of children. Since the CaterPILLer is cute people will want to make it happy and to not hurt it, even if it simply a robot. The CaterPILLer also uses design language that is currently popular to make it seem more desirable. The clean white geometric aesthetic is current and makes the product more marketable. Making pillboxes a form of fashionable furniture can help reduce stigma. Stigma is the negative association attached to certain things. Taking medication, especially for psychiatric reasons, is stigmatized as something shameful, feeding off of feelings of weakness. It is seen abnormal even though forty-eight percent of people use prescription drugs. By making pillboxes more visible one chooses to fight against the current negative view of prescription drugs. The product has seven magnetic compartments to store daily pills. These are formed from icosahedrons with lids that have strong magnetic connections. This allows the lids to stay firmly attached but also be easily removable even without fine motor skills. The segmented shape of a caterpillar lends itself easily to being stylized as a pillbox but also has a unique flair. All the electronics are cleanly stored inside the head and run on a coin battery to eliminate any unseemly wires. This product will make kids excited, rather than scared, to take their medication.