Fab Academy 2026 — Final Project

Pill-Shaped
Pill Dispenser

A pill box that looks like a pill. I know, obvious in hindsight. But that's sort of the whole idea. Make the thing you dread, using something actually nice to look at, and maybe you'll stop leaving it at the back of a drawer.

Author Merin Cyriac
Lab Fablab Kochi
Status Done
Year 2026

Presentation Slide

Presentation slide showing the MediBee pill dispenser concept

Presentation Video

Initial Sketch

The shape is a big oval, like an oversized pill lying on its side. Running through the middle horizontally is a seam: that's where the body opens up when you need to refill the medication inside. At the bottom there's a dispensing door, where you can collect the medicine.

Hand-drawn sketch of the pill dispenser concept
First Sketch

First Design

Final 2D design of the pill dispenser in Figma
First 3D Design
Final 2D design of the pill dispenser in Figma Final 2D design of the pill dispenser in Figma

Final Design

Final 2D design of the pill dispenser in Figma Final 2D design of the pill dispenser in Figma

Project Weeks

MediBee is a smart pill dispenser that helps people remember to take their medicine on time. It has a tiny motor inside that gently drops out the right pill at the right time, all by itself.

MediBee connects to WiFi, so you can also check on it using an app on your phone and even see your dispensing schedule from anywhere. It even remembers its settings and reconnects on its own if the WiFi ever goes out, so it always keeps working.

Inside there are three circular discs. Each one is a rotor with 8 compartments around the edge, one for each day. The morning disc, the lunch disc, and the night disc each rotate independently. When it's time for a dose, the right disc spins to align its current day-compartment with the opening at the bottom, and the door swings open.

Building the System

Mobile App

Firmware

medibee_esp32.ino Download

PCB

Main Board
Secondary Board

Bill Of Materials

# Category Part Qty Unit Cost (INR) Subtotal (INR) Subtotal (USD) Source Link
1 MCU XIAO ESP32-S3 module 1 979 979 $10.14 Lab stock Link
2 MCU ATtiny 1624 1 139 139 $1.44 Lab stock Link
4 Electronics Schottky Diode 1 13 13 $0.13 Lab stock Link
5 Electronics MP1584EN buck converter 1 15 15 $0.16 Lab stock Link
6 Electronics SSD1306 OLED 0.96" 128x64 I2C 1 169 169 $1.75 Lab stock Link
7 Electronics 12mm tactile push button 1 3 3 $0.03 Lab stock Link
9 Electronics Active piezo buzzer 3.3–5V 1 16 16 $0.17 Lab stock Link
10 Electronics Hall Effect Sensor 1 39 39 $0.40 Lab stock Link
11 Electronics 28BYJ-48 stepper motor (5V) 4 92 368 $3.81 Lab stock Link
12 Electronics ULN2003 driver board 3 41 123 $1.27 Lab stock Link
14 Electronics Resistor 1k 5 .66 .66 $0.0068 Lab stock Link
13 Electronics Resistor 10k 2 .66 .66 $0.0068 Lab stock Link
16 Electronics Capacitor 100nF 4 5 20 $0.21 Lab stock Link
17 Electronics Capacitor 10µF 1 16 16 $0.17 Lab stock Link
Total ₹1,488 $15.41

USD total calculated at ~₹96.58/$1. Lab-stock passive components (resistors, capacitors) not costed individually.

Files

Fusion Files

Main Board

Kicad Files

Main Board

Secondary Board

Firmware

Arduino File