Dementia is defined as a progressive indicator in the deterioration of cognitive function. It is one of major causes of disability and dependencies among older people and can begin from basic forgetfulness to difficulty in recognizing family and behavior changes that can escalate to aggression.

According the World Health Organization, 47.5 million people, worldwide, have dementia, with over half (58%) living in low- and middle-income countries. Unfortunately, this multitude is estimated to grow to 75.6 million in 2030 and almost triple by 2050 to 135.5 million.

Currently, there is no available cure and therefore, priority has been given towards optimizing physical health, cognition, activity and well-being.

The project RoboPill is designed to tackle this issue and provide an interface for family members to monitor, schedule, and remind their loved ones of their medication intake. Through proper reminders, the patients can improve and maintain their physical health despite the increasing memory loss.

The current setup as depicted in the images, incorporates an arduino, speakers, IR sensors, servos, LEDs, a custom 3D printed and laser cut design, and an android application. Basic functions include being able to schedule when to take the medication, semiautomatic or automatic dispensal, and an alarm on both the setup and phone to notify the patient.

The project seeks to differentiate itself from previous iterations through the prospective developments. These include an improved human-device interface between the patient and smartphone (i.e. voice recognition and response), possibility of incorporating memory-boosting exercises and utilities, real-time medication update via cloud, and improved custom device design.

The Current Github Repo is available at https://github.com/RaiMunoz/RoboPill.