Green Final Project Proposal

Project Ideation

1- What sustainability-related problem or need does your project address? What were you inspired by? What is/are the SDG/s you are tackling in your project? Include images and videos of similar projects

Similar project (medicine-dispensing robot)

Problem: Improving healthcare and reducing medical errors due to incorrect or missed medication.

Inspiration: My dad's daily medication routine inspired me to create a simpler solution. I desire to simplify medication management for individuals with chronic illnesses. I aim to design an innovative solution that consolidates daily medication into a single, organized, and accessible device. This smart medicine dispenser will improve adherence, reduce errors, and enhance quality of life for those managing ongoing health conditions.

UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs):

Goal 3: Good Health and Well-being.

Goal 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure.

2- Conduct a feasibility/impact assessment using the standard template and attach it below. How do you think this assessment will guide your design?

Explain your impact assessment on those four pillars: social, economic, environmental, and natural resources. And, explain how this assessment will influence your project concept and goals.

The impact assessment helped me see the different aspects of my project design. Putting into consideration the environmental, economic, social, and natural resources aspects.

Social Impact:

- Addresses the need for accurate and timely medication management

- Inclusive design for accessibility

Economic Impact:

- Cost-effective design

- Contributes to local economic growth

Environmental Impact:

- Reduces waste and consumption

- Promotes sustainable practices

Natural Resources Impact:

- Uses sustainable and recyclable materials

- Minimizes energy and water consumption

The feasibility/impact assessment will influence and guide design decisions by identifying potential environmental, economic, and social implications of the project. This will enable me to make informed decisions that minimize negative impacts and maximize benefits, ultimately leading to a more sustainable and effective design.

3- Describe the project idea and general features. How would it work?

I want to fabricate a medicine dispenser machine that can be used by more than one user in the same house. Through each person who puts his fingerprint, the machine deduces his medication regimen and produces the medication allocated to him by RTC module sensing (automatically) or by the user inputs through his smartphone or by push buttons labeled with day periods (manually). The machine gets out for him the medicine in different time, integrate voice assistant and a message appears on the LCD screen with alerts. The requirements for this medicine like: (have your breakfast before taking it, take it after dinner, eat well after taking it, stop eating after taking it, and so on).

4- Sketch your project: You may use pen and paper or a simple sketching tool like Microsoft Paint or Photoshop

1 2 3

Ready for exciting project !

Project Planning

5- Describe the Technical Modules that your project consists of

Construction Parts

The main structure of the pill medicine dispenser will be made of wood. And, some pieces will be made of Acrylic and PLA. Also, I will be using tubes to allow storing medicine.

Input

(Sensing, Tactile Input, and/or Graphical Input)

The pill medicine dispenser will be able to calculate the time by RCT sensor or take user inputs by his smartphone using bluetooth module and take action upon that. Also, It will be able to detect pill storing in tube by IR sensor, detect fingerprint by fingerprint sensor to allow using by more than one user.

Also, there will be physical buttons for manual control.

Action

(Physical and/or Graphic)

The pill medicine dispenser will be able to open and close automatically that allows the pill medicine to go out using servo motor. Also there will be Lcd to show the instructions and mp3 module for voice assistant integration.

Also, there will be some kind of LEDs and Buzzer as indicators if the medicine needs refill.

Brain

I will be using Arduino UNO as the brain for the project.

Power Management

I will be using a 9V adapter to power the whole project. Also, I will be using a 9V to 5V step-down converter to be able to feed the servo motor with the 5V needed for operation.

6- How will you use tools like the laser cutter and 3D printer with sustainable materials to make your project eco-friendly? What materials will you use, and why are they sustainable choices?

Describe how your project will leverage maker tools like laser cutters or 3D printers to reduce waste, and increase maintainability. Also, explain your choice of materials such as fabric, plastic filament, or recycled plastic sheets to support green innovation. Select materials with low environmental impact, and explain their relevance to your project.

PLAfilament

Plywood sheets

My main focus is on using maker tools and machines such as 3d printers, laser cutters, ...etc to create user features that improve the overall project sustainability.

I'm using maker tools and machines like laser cutters and 3D printers to manufacture the physical structure of the pill medicine dispenser. I'm mainly using wood and Acrylic as the main materials for the structure. These may seem like non-sustainable materials—that's right! But I'm focusing on different aspects like maintainability, ease of manufacturing, and reducing waste. All these aspects are directly related and improving the overall project sustainability.

The pill medicine dispenser will be fully documented and open-source. That will make the project maintainability very easy for anyone. Also, that extends the lifetime of the project.

7- Create a cardboard prototype of your project, demonstrating the project face as well as internal movements and mechanisms. Include a demo video and photos of the prototype.

Full body

Front view

Top view

Inside

Video from 𝒎𝒐𝒉𝒓𝒂𝒆𝒆𝒍

Pill dispensing mechanism

8- Categorize your project’s User Features into: Minimum, Complete, and Nice-to-have features. List the required action and input components per feature.

Minimum Features: are the least amount of features that would demonstrate the coverage of all the technical modules and their complete integration
Complete Features: are the set of features that will complete your original project objective and vision
Nice-to-have Features: are the extra set of features that will make the project cooler, yet they need extra time, effort, and/or resources to finish

Minimum User Features

1. Pill Dispensing

Action: Dispense pills at scheduled times (servo motor)
Sensing: Real-time clock RTC module
User Input: Initial setup of pill schedule

2. Low Pill Alert

Action: Alert user when pill supply is low (Buzzer/Leds)
Sensing: Pill container sensor (IR sensor)
User Input: None

Complete User Features

1. Pill requirements message

Action: Send reminders to users when pills are due (LCD)
Sensing: Real-time clock module
User Input: User interface for setting reminder preferences

2. Voice Assistant Integration

Action: Integrate with voice assistants for hands-free control (mp3 module)
Sensing: RTC module
User Input: none

Nice-to-have User Features

1. Remote Monitoring and Control

Action: Allow caregivers to remotely monitor and control pill dispensing
Sensing: Bluetooth module
User Input: mobile app interface

2. Multiple users

Action: device availability for multiple users
Sensing: fingerprint sensor
User Input: user fingerprint

9- How will you incorporate Arduino programming, sensors, and actuators to enhance the sustainability features of your project?

Describe how you’ll use Arduino programming, along with sensors and actuators, to create functions that improve your project’s efficiency, reduce resource use, or monitor environmental impact.

My main focus is on using the Arduino board and and programming to create user features that improve the overall project sustainability.

I'm using the Arduino board alongside some sensors and actuators to calculate the time to take actions like opening or closing the panels that allow the pill medicine to go out, Improving healthcare and reducing medical errors due to incorrect or missed medication. which is directly related to SDGs 3 and 9.

I'm using RTC to calculate the time. I'm also using IR sensor to detect the tube filling and track medicine levels. All these data are passed to the Arduino board, which is running smart code to process them and order the motors to control brining out the pill medicine (open or close) based on the processed data.

Arduino modules

By incorporating Arduino programming, sensors, and actuators, my medicine dispenser project will become a more efficient, sustainable, and user-friendly solution for managing medication.