What?

The Smart Pill Dispenser is a device that applies to a wide variety of people who are prescribed multiple medicines. The Smart pill dispenser is a new pill bottle, and a counter top machine that knows which pills, the amount of each pill, and the time at which to dispense. At a given time the Smart Pill Dispenser will remind you to take your meds with a beep and a flashing light, however it will not dispense pill until the user is there. Once activated the Smart Pill Dispenser will accurately give the user their prescriptions.

Why/how

The Inspiration for the pill bottle came from, of all things, a squash ball feeder. The squash ball feeder has 2 rotating discs with holes cut out for the ball enclosing a third disc with only one hole. This way the machine will only dispense one ball at a time. Stealing that design, we created the pill bottle top. It dispenses exactly one pill for every rotation. Next came the machine, taking inspiration from a carousal, 6 spots for different medications. A stepper motor in the middle moves the pill bottles to the correct location and then a gear, designed in unison with the pill bottle top, will dispense one pill and return to a position where it cannot interfere with the other pill bottles. This product kills two birds with one stone, dispensing pills easily, and making sure no one takes them. This device could be used in nursing homes, hospitals, children’s medication, and more.