Smart Medicine Dispenser

Abstract

Medication non-adherence is a persistent challenge in modern healthcare, particularly among elderly individuals and patients managing chronic conditions, and it often leads to missed doses, dosing errors, and preventable hospital readmissions. This paper presents the design and implementation of a Smart Medicine Dispenser that automates medication delivery using embedded sensors, a microcontroller, and cellular connectivity. The objective of the work is to develop a low-cost, Arduino-based dispensing system that improves dosing accuracy, provides touch-free interaction, and keeps caregivers informed in real time. The system architecture integrates an Arduino Uno R4 Minima microcontroller, a real-time clock (RTC) module for accurate scheduling, an infrared (IR) sensor for touch-free presence detection, a servo-motor-based dispensing mechanism, a 16x2 LCD for local status display, a buzzer for audible alerts, and a GSM module (SIM800L) for SMS notifications to caregivers. The prototype was evaluated over 100 test cycles to assess dispensing accuracy, timing accuracy, and alert reliability. The servo-based compartment mechanism dispensed medication successfully at each scheduled interval with an overall success rate exceeding 95%, while visual and audible alerts were triggered reliably every time and SMS notifications were delivered consistently to the caregiver's phone. These results show that combining scheduled dispensing with presence detection and independent remote alerting can meaningfully reduce missed and incorrect doses without requiring an internet connection or a smart phone application. The proposed system offers a cost-effective, modular, and scalable solution suited to home care, elder-care facilities, and rural or underserved regions with limited connectivity, and it lays a foundation for future enhancements such as multi-drug scheduling, mobile-app integration, and biometric authentication.