Random design concerns for the project

Our main goal might be to create an intuitive Tangible user interface for Scheduling the pills. The use of the schedule and the pills make it a much bigger design problem, most of which does not involve a TUI. These are Dan's initial thoughts about the device as if it were aiming to be a complete commercial product with all of the following functions:

Pill Scheduler, Pill Dispenser, Alarm System, Compliance Checker.

Scheduling

Use multiple of same kind of pills
visually can see with 100% fidelity which drug and how many at a given time and over the entire schedule
when doing repeated input , planning to take a second pill corresponds to grabbing another pill
Physical manipulation of small objects
the visual angle of the objects are small (identitfication
Bottle as a token (no longer need to use RFID, could use the barcode)
Larger yet perhaps less meaningful object (bottles all look the same)
No need to use the small pills
No physical or visual feed back
Would have to have compute identity multiple times
Repeated input would require a less intuitive procedure
Flexible Token? (can use almost any sensing mechanism)
Large enough to handle
Match it to the bottle/ pill then use it to schedule
Could have larger display of pill name or picture
Again, repeated input problems and feed back problems

Saving it
Pills
Press save button and they actually go into machine
What about tomorrow? How do the pills get in there?
Press save then allow for setting and manipulation to multiple days then into machine
Bottle/ token
Press save and put contents of bottle into machine

Manipulation
Creation of a Day Schedule token? Similar to the media blocks
Saves schedules to a token
place token on days of the week which also have that schedule?

What about Every other day pills?

Physical shape

Pills as input
craters with smooth edges? within days? within time blocks?
A home crater for the unused pills to the side? (Might not work if there are craters for each week day
has canals to the time blocks?
Has pour out funnel for left over pills?
What is the process?
One kind of medication at a time (if doing one day device)
One kind medication at a time if doing a week device?

Where does the save button go?

Mistakes?
what if they want to edit it? Does it spit out pills in their schedule for them to manipulate? Does it use video? Does it require you to just make a whole new schedule?

Schedule checker? is this schedule the right schedule?

Compliance?
Probably the most critical problem(in real life), prospective memory is just a part of it
weight? shape, size, color, RFID? buttons? if they open the container?

Container
Should have a clock and day of the week?
Is it put in the same spot every day of the week? or adifferent spot? Will there be measures to prevent putting it in the wrong spot?
will the machine check if it’s there?
Will the container check it its put back?

Feedback
Amplification of analog? Crude example: magnifying glass
Digital? Pictures? Text? Both?