Abstract
Methods/Materials
My invention consists of three subsystems, (1) homemade sensors installed on the cabinet shelves, (2) a microcontroller which repeatedly checks the sensor voltages in a loop, to see if a medicine bottle has been picked up, and (3) a laptop computer which generates visual and audio instructions for the patient based on sensor information gathered by the microcontroller. In this project, I used (1) wood and other supplies, and tools to build the cabinet, (2) some resistors, wires, LEDs, and related electrical tools to build the circuits which were installed on the cabinet shelves, and (3) a microcontroller, a laptop computer and some free software development tools I downloaded from the internet to build the audio-visual user interface. I designed and built the final model, as well as two prototypes using my skills in woodworking, staining, soldering, electrical wiring, and Algebra 1.
Results
In my final system when a user picks up a bottle from the shelf, a sensor voltage will change from high to low. This is sensed by the microcontroller via its analog pins. The microcontroller then sends this information via a USB cable to the computer. The computer will check, and update a database of medicine dispensing events. Then the computer will issue appropriate audio and visual instructions to the user.
Conclusions/Discussion
The final version of my system met all of my design criteria. The cost was low because I built inexpensive homemade sensors. My final version as well as the two prototypes were functional, but I used the lessons I learned while making my prototypes to refine the ease of use, and reliability of my final system.
This experiment invented a Smart Medicine Cabinet which assists people with taking the proper medications, at the proper times; this has the potential to decrease the cost of healthcare.
Science Fair Project done By Arjun V. Balasingam