I am a current senior and part of my senior design project requires my group to create a pill box with a set of sensors that can detect if they have been opened that day. My portion of the group project requires me to implement some type of sensor or method of detecting if the pill box lid has been opened, and then be able to have an external device ask the pill box sensor which compartments have been opened that day (4 compartments). Ideally this communication link would be over bluetooth. I was looking at where to start, I have found some bluetooth development kits, and some stretch sensors but I do not know if this is the best way about going to solve this problem. Any help that could be offered would be greatly appreciated, and if you need more information let me know. Thanks again!

 

a latch on the pill box top that depresses a switch. could be conductive membrane or magnetic reed, embedded in the plastic. I'm sure the state of the art in micro switch technology has passed me by, but using the natural function of this box and its lid to accomplish the 'button push' seems logical. Something that could be 'designed' in obscurely.

A magnetic spot on the edge of a lid could activate a hall effect sensor (this one could get really small quite easy)

thermal sensors are small but I don't think they'd be easy to implement here.

prototype with the switch and try to do the hall effect one as well?

a whole magnitude of fewer moving parts involved with the hall effect approach as well.



Hell , i've talked myself into it.