What we're building.
A portable, rechargeable smart pillbox designed to make medication management feel less like a chore and more like a daily habit — with a digital incentive system to keep you going.
Our Proposed Solution
We combined an app that has easy-to-set reminders and an adherence-rewarding incentivization system with a smart pillbox that clearly indicates the pills to take with LEDs and allows users to confirm taking with buttons.
In our design, there are three fundamental aspects: the iOS app, the PCB, and the pillbox. The iOS app is controlled on the user's phone, the PCB is placed within the pillbox (the bottom). The pillbox contains four compartments, each storing one type of pill, at the front of each compartment there are 4 LEDs and one button. When using our design, users will be able to set customizable repeating schedules via an iOS app. At the scheduled times, the user's phone will receive a notification and the app will control the PCB over BLE to light the corresponding number of LEDs from the corresponding compartment (2 LEDs = 2 pills). After taking the indicated pills, user's press the button on the compartment, indicating to the app to confirm the taking and provide the incentivization rewards.
User-facing Flow Diagram
Hardware Block Diagram
Software Block Diagram
What the device does.
- Stores four different pill types in separate rectangular containers.
- Uses LEDs to indicate which pill container should be accessed at the scheduled time.
- Sends schedule-based reminders through the connected mobile app.
- Detects button presses to confirm the correct medication was taken.
- Tracks medication-taking behavior and rewards consistency with daily streaks.
- Rechargeable via USB-C, with power-efficient operation through the IMU module.
Three layers, one device.
Hardware
- Four rectangular pill containers
- Five LEDs and one button on each container face
- Physical enclosure for organized storage
PCB & Connectivity
- PCB mounted underneath the containers
- Wi-Fi connectivity for app communication
- Bluetooth connectivity for direct interaction
Software & App Logic
- User-configured medication schedules
- Phone notifications when medication is due
- Button confirmation and streak-based incentives
Draft CAD
