This week, I had prepared for and given the design review presentation. I had also picked up our packages that were delivered to the ECE receiving room. I had begun working on our design review presentation, primarily the cost breakdown, testing sections, and formatting our timeline. Based on the questions and comments made in our presentation, I have added those recommendations into the design report. However, based on the design feedback my group receives this week, I plan on going back through these sections and adjusting what is needed. For the upcoming week, I plan on finishing the design report (due Saturday) as well as working on the MySQL database creation (due Friday). I plan on meeting with my group this week to begin distributing parts, so we can work on our respective tasks. I am on track with our project schedule!
Taylor Koda’s Status Report for 2/22/2025
Worked more on the web development side of the project. I worked on adding more style to the page then also adding a user info page and updating the pill box. Tmr I will finish up the login form. Also did my peer reviews! I also then worked some on the design repoort. Just more of the same no really major updates.
Aneesha’s Status Report 2/22/2025
My responsibilities this past week have been the 3D printed device and models. I adjusted the compartment design on TinkerCAD to make it a little smaller since we need six compartments and we do not want the device to be too large while still meeting our use case requirements. I put in a request for 3D printing for a single compartment and a single disc and they finished printing on Friday. I was not able to go pick them up on Friday due to my job but I will be able to either Sunday or Monday and there should be no delays. The printing did not take much time and once we verify the printed components meet our requirements, I will 3D print the rest of the components and start assembling the device. Over the next week and into spring break, I will be working on the pill-tracking dashboard as well. Currently, I am on track with the schedule that we have made.
Team Status Report 2/22/2025
This week we have made progress on finalizing hardware components and design for the device. Last week we were working on the CAD models for the components of our device we were going to 3D print, the compartments, and the disc. We have 3D printed one of each and we will go in on Sunday or Monday to pick them up and make sure they fit the amount of pills we need and are also compatible in size with the servo motors. Once we confirm that we will 3D print the rest of the models. The 3D printing was done by FabLab in TechSpark and should be well within the remainder of our budget. We have mostly been working on the design report that is due next Friday and going into thorough detail with our design based on questions and feedback we received during the presentation. All the hardware components we ordered have arrived and this week we are ready to start building the device. We will also simultaneously be working on the software components, particularly the database for tracking the pills in our compartment. In the last week, the basic app configuration and style were completed so now we will start working on the pill tracking database. Our schedule accounts for Taylor’s absence due to her surgery but she has been able to contribute a lot as she recovers. We are currently on track with our schedule.
Aneesha’s Status Report 2/15/25
For this week, I have been working on the design slides and document. I have been working on the CAD design for the compartments of the dispensing device so we can 3D print. I made the individual designs for the pill storage and the rotating disc meant to dispense the pill based on dimension calculations that take into account average pill sizes, prevent jamming of pills, and creating an easy path for the pill from the compartments to the load cell. Then I made a 3D model of how all the components will be arranged within housing. Next week, we will be able to start 3D printing the components and I will continue to work on the physical device and the software elements that track the pills. Below is a link to all the CAD models mentioned above.
Taylor Status Report Feb 15
Worked on the website, did the Django model and also a lot of the basic web functionality and style. Then I also made a github that I shared with team members. Also worked on some of the slides for the design proposal. I also made a project tracker on github see here https://github.com/users/tkoda1/projects/2/views/1. Then wednesday I got a neck surgery which went poorly. They ended up stabbing my jugular vein and I have been in the hospital with a neck drain since. SO, I am writing this status report from the hospital. I also had a massive infection overall not doing to well.
Team Status Report for 2/15/2025
Similar to last week, the most significant risks that could jeopardize the success of the project is the 3D printing and integrating the entire system, as our team does not have collegiate technical training in robotics or 3D printing. To manage these risks, we are working on the CAD model and will print as soon as possible, giving us ample time to adjust if necessary. Additionally, we have been working with TAs to make sure our circuitry and power supply will suffice. There were design changes that we had made, namely adding a servo driver, speaker, load cell, and power supplies to our design. This was necessary as we explored our proposal more and incorporated feedback from our presentation, professor, and TAs. This did increase our final cost, as shown in the linked spreadsheet. However, we are still within the constraints of the $600.00 budget.
Part A was written by MM, Part B was written by Aneesha, and Part C was written by Taylor:
Part A: In terms of public health, safety, and welfare, our product allows users to make sure they are taking their correct medication at the correct time, whether they are prone to forgetting if they took their medication, taking too much medication, etc. It is important that our product dispenses the correct dose, however, or else it can pose potential medical risks to the client. Additionally, our product will be safe by using medical-grade cleaning. While we will not have this for DemoDay, as it is a prototype, our final product will be sterile by using ethylene oxide gas sterilization and UV-C light sterilization. We have chosen ethylene oxide sterilization to sterilize the plastic body of our dispenser since our product, made of plastic, would be sensitive to other sterilization methods evolving heat. We have chosen UV-C light sterilization to sterilize our electronics, since the gas and heat sterilization can damage our electronic components, such as the speaker and RaspberryPi 5.
Part B: Our automated pill dispenser is designed with key social factors in mind, particularly accessibility, healthcare disparities, caregiving, economic considerations, and digital inclusion. By ensuring timely medication intake through automated dispensing and scheduled notifications, the device supports individuals who struggle with medication adherence, such as elderly patients, disabled individuals, and those in underserved communities. It also alleviates the burden on caregivers by enabling remote monitoring, reducing stress, and allowing family members or healthcare providers to track adherence in real-time. We are also prioritizing accessibility in our web app design as it is user-friendly, adjustable to different screen sizes, and designed for individuals with limited technology experience. We are also ensuring privacy and security of patient health information by encrypting data. By addressing healthcare accessibility, caregiver support, and digital inclusion, the dispenser enhances independent medication management and overall quality of life.
Part C: Our pill dispensing device helps with economic factors by making sure people take their medication correctly, which can save money on healthcare costs. When people forget to take their medicine or take too much, it can lead to serious health problems that require expensive hospital visits or treatments. By reducing the amount of hospital visits, our product can reduce a user’s overall medical costs. We keep production costs low by using affordable medical-grade plastic. Also, we choose cost-effective, widely-available, and energy-efficient electronic components, such as the RaspberryPi 5 and servo motors. For sterilization, we use ethylene oxide gas and UV-C light, which are cheaper and safer for our materials compared to heat-based methods that could damage the plastic parts. Since our device is lightweight and compact, it’s easier and cheaper to ship, making it more accessible to our target users.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1A78EFYzDSM-yG8J1KksYfQ9CtJF7ld6q7F0CRFXgZSU/edit?usp=sharing
MM Demangone’s Status Report for 2/15/2025
For this week, I had revised the components that we need for our design. I had drawn out several block diagrams and iterations of our design as we were optimizing our hardware. I have completed the medication Django form and model to be used in our web app and have pushed it to our GitHub. I also worked on the design presentation, namely the block diagram, solution approach, software implementation, hardware implementation, testing, and verification. Additionally, I will be presenting the design presentation in class on Monday, so I have spent time preparing for that presentation as well. I am on track with the schedule that we had set! Next week, I will complete MySQL database creation to store the users’ medications. Additionally, I will start writing some code for the RaspberryPi, so once it arrives, we will be ready to start testing and vetting the code. Lastly, I will work on the Design Proposal document with the rest of my team.
Aneesha’s Status Report for 2/8/25
This past week I have been working on the hardware design for the dispenser. I have been working with MM to get together the components that we need to order. I realized that buying the pill compartments and cutting them to fit would not be ideal for our device so I have started on a CAD design using CadQuery and TinkerCAD to design our pill compartments based on our user requirements and will continue to work on it and the hardware schematic throughout the week as well as our design document. I created a prototype and added the STL file to our GitHub repo and below is what the model will potentially look like.
taylor koda status report feb 8 2025
I have surgery in a few days so I wanted to get a jump on the web application so I created a GitHub and started working on the Django set up and HTML pages. SO next week other team mates could work on form functionality. Find the GitHub here https://github.com/tkoda1/Capstone – Taylor Koda. I have plans to finish up some of the pages tmr. Also worked more on updating the figma for the design as well as task break down for the design report. Will work on a github gannt tmr. Status Feb 8