Travis SearsSimPill
The Problem
Millions take 5+ medications a day. Dispensing them shouldn’t require fine motor skills.
A significant portion of elderly and polypharmacy patients also deal with arthritis and reduced grip strength. Standard pill bottles — child-proof caps, small openings, inconsistent dispensing — create a daily barrier to medication adherence.
We interviewed 10 stakeholders including arthritis patients, nursing home caregivers, nurses, and a physical therapist. Their feedback drove every design decision.
5+
Daily medications for the average elderly patient
10–32%
Of elderly patients cannot open standard pill bottles
10
Stakeholder interviews conducted during design research
The Prototype
Attaches to any standard pill bottle.
SimPill clamps onto the base of a standard prescription bottle. Press the large pill button once to dispense a single pill — no shaking, no wrestling with a cap, no fine motor skill required.
The body is 3D printed in PLA. Pill buttons are swappable — sized and labeled for specific medications so users always press the right one.
The System
The pill button and height selector are swappable color-coded components — orange for Advil, purple for standard capsules. Different sizes click in and out without tools, letting one device handle an entire medication regimen.
Design Features
Every part solves a specific problem.
Pill Button
Large ergonomic press. Swappable to fit different pill shapes and labeled per medication.
Locking Switch
Prevents accidental dispensing and reduces humidity exposure inside the sorting chamber.
Height Selector
Click-in/click-out mechanism adapts to multiple pill thicknesses without tools.
Entry Funnel
Guides pills from the bottle into the sorting chamber reliably, regardless of orientation.
Component Deep-Dive
A spring we had to design ourselves.
Off-the-shelf springs kept buckling sideways under the button, binding the mechanism instead of returning it. The fix was a custom waveform geometry that constrains deflection to a single axis — it compresses straight and stays straight.
We printed it in TPU rather than sourcing a metal spring. TPU gives the button a cushioned press instead of a sharp metallic snap — a meaningful difference for the elderly users SimPill is built for, and one fewer part to source.
Full assembly cross-section — every internal clearance was checked in section view before a single part went to the printer.
Validation
Tested. Iterated. Validated.
Testers with no prior exposure rated ease of use 4–5 out of 5. Pill retention tests confirmed zero unintended dispensing after vigorous shaking. Dispensing consistency averaged 76.7% across three trials — a strong baseline for a first-semester prototype with clear mechanical paths to improvement.
76.7%
Average dispensing success rate across three tests
4.3/5
Ease-of-use score from first-time testers
0
Unintended pills dispensed during retention testing
Business Vision
A starter kit for $8.50. Expansion packs at $3.
The base SimPill device comes with one pill button and height selector. Customers add expansion packs for each medication — a low upfront cost with a repeatable revenue model. Custom pill sizes can be ordered on demand.
Purdue TECH 120 · Spring 2024
Crowd Favorite
— $500 Prize
Won the Crowd Favorite award at the Purdue TECH 120 design contest — voted on by industry judges and attendees. SimPill was the only project entered by a high school team competing alongside university students.
Design Team
Travis Sears
Mechanical Engineering · Design Lead
Blake Basil
Professional Flight · Presentation Lead
Connor Geoghegan
Mechanical Engineering · Research
Gavin Doster
Nuclear Engineering
Will Sidorowicz
Materials Engineering · Design
Full Presentation
EDD Purdue — SimPill Design Review