IOT WEARABLE & NATIVE MOBILE | MASTER'S THESIS 2025
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Designing CarePal: An Empathetic Wearable Ecosystem for Elder Care
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A dual-band hardware and mobile app system designed to transform medication adherence into a shared ritual of connection for elderly users and caregivers ( family members).
✿ Context: Master's Thesis HCI (CSU East Bay - Interaction Design)
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✿ Duration: Jan 2025 – May 2025
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✿ My Role: Product Designer & Creative Technologist (Mobile UI Design & Arduino Engineering)
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✿ Platforms: IoT Wearable (Arduino Nano) & Native Mobile App
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✿ Scope: Generative Research, Hardware Engineering (BLE Sync), Dual-User Journey Mapping, and UI/UX Design.
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​✿ Tools & Workflow:
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♡ Software code:
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♡ Hardware & IoT: , Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), haptic motors, and LEDs.
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♡ UI/UX Design:
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♡ Research Workflow: Semi-structured interviews, physical prototyping, and usability testing.​​
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✿ Ai Workflow:
Project Overview
✿ The Product: An IoT wearable and a companion native mobile app.
✿ The Mission: Transforming medication adherence into a shared ritual of emotional connection.
✿ The Mechanism: Using "Calm Technology" (gentle haptics and LEDs) to bridge physical distance.
The Problem Statement
✿ Loss of Autonomy: Standard pill dispensers make elderly users feel heavily monitored.
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✿ Emotional Burnout: Constant worry leads to high-stress, relationship-straining caregiver check-ins.
✿ Cognitive Overload: Complex medical apps disrupt the comfortable daily routines of older adults.
Problem vs. Solution
The Problem (Friction)
Jarring auditory medical alarms cause stress and cognitive overload.
Negative "missed dose" alerts make users feel monitored and punished.
smart dispensers force users to abandon their comfortable daily routines.
Caregiving often falls on a single, overwhelmed family member.
Novelty of CarePal as a Solution
Replaced with gentle, peripheral haptic vibrations and soft LEDs.
to positive, real-time vibration confirmations sent to the caregiver.
a screen-free wristband that seamlessly accommodates any medication type.
A shared app ecosystem that allows multiple family members to reconnect and participate in the care loop.
The Core Goal
✿ The Empathy Gap: We’ve all watched a loved one struggle with isolation and health from afar.
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✿ The Anchor: Elderly users need more than just a medication alarm—they need a sign that someone cares.
✿ The Solution: CarePal was built to turn cold, clinical reminders into soft, human moments of connection.
The Competitive Landscape
The Problem of Medication Non-Adherence
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Smart Dispensers (e.g., Hero, MedMinder): Stationary and overly clinical, prioritizing mechanical compliance over human connection.
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Smartphone Apps (e.g., Medisafe, MyMeds): High-friction and easily ignored, demanding high tech-literacy while feeling emotionally cold.
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Mainstream Wearables (e.g., Apple Watch, Fitbit): Over-featured and overwhelming for seniors, lacking a dedicated feedback loop for caregivers.
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Companion Tech (e.g., Paro, ElliQ): Emotionally soothing but functionally passive, failing to actively support critical daily health routines.
The crisis of medication non-adherence proves that true elder well-being requires going beyond the pill to support a holistic routine of health, mobility, and vital social connection.
Most solutions focus on tracking, not emotional support or user comfort
What Stack Carepal is based on
Hardware Engineering: Built physical prototypes using Arduino Nano, BLE, and haptic motors. Software Integration: Wrote custom JavaScript to bridge the physical and digital ecosystems. UI/UX Design: Architected the caregiver's mobile app and interactive prototypes in Figma.
To ensure our hardware solved true human friction, our three-person team conducted a four-week generative research sprint, focusing on the emotional landscape of remote caregiving.
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The Sample Size (N=24): We conducted semi-structured interviews with 12 elderly adults (aged 70+) managing daily medications, and 12 remote family caregivers.
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The Methodology: We utilized contextual inquiries and emotional journey mapping to uncover the unspoken friction between clinical compliance and family dynamics.
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The Core Insight: 100% of caregivers cited "constant worry" as a daily burden, while 85% of elderly users felt "heavily monitored" by existing medical devices, proving the urgent need for a shift from clinical tracking to empathetic reassurance.
Discovery & Generative Research
Design process
We started by learning through interviews and research about the real challenges older adults face.
Ideation & Concept Evolution
deation & Concept Evolution The Initial Hypothesis: We started with a standard industry assumption: designing a smart, automated pill dispenser to simply tackle elderly forgetfulness. The Clinical Reality: Our research highlighted a massive systemic crisis, with up to 50% of elderly patients failing to maintain complex medication regimens. The Emotional Discovery: We uncovered a critical "dual burden"—the physical challenge of the patient is matched only by the severe emotional anxiety of the remote caregiver. The Strategic Pivot: Realizing a mechanical dispenser couldn't solve human anxiety, we abandoned the stationary concept to focus on emotional connection rather than just functional compliance. The Final Concept: The product evolved into a dual-wearable ecosystem (patient and caregiver wristbands) designed to bridge physical distance and provide mutual, real-time reassurance.
Then, we came up with a vision
Our first idea was a smart pill dispenser... Early research showed us that what people needed most wasn’t automation, it was connection. That insight led us to design CarePal.
What if a reminder could feel like care, not pressure?
Specific Design Choices for the Wristband
We engineered an accessible, screen-free interface featuring a single low-dexterity button, gentle haptic vibrations, and intuitive color-coded LEDs.
Concept Evolution
Concept Evolution: The Wristband Ecosystem Synchronized Feedback: A button press from the patient instantly sends a reassuring "green light" to the caregiver. Zero-Friction Integration: Adapts to any medication format (pills, liquids, inhalers) without disrupting the user's daily habits. Holistic Connection: Shifts the dynamic from "clinical nagging" to mutual reassurance and prompts healthy daily mobility.
Prototyping & Hardware Calibration
Hardware Ergonomics: Iterated with soft, breathable velcro and calibrated adjustable haptics to protect sensitive elderly skin. Accessible Software: Designed a low-vision friendly caregiver app featuring large typography and zero-friction navigation. Synchronized Feedback: Engineered real-time BLE (Bluetooth) syncing to instantly mirror color-coded LED confirmations across both wristbands. Calm Technology: Applied peripheral, non-intrusive design principles so notifications inform without triggering anxiety or cognitive overload.
1. Interaction & Hardware
UIAccessible Physical Interface: Engineered a single, oversized confirmation button to ensure zero-friction usability for elderly patients with arthritis or limited dexterity.Multi-Sensory Calm Tech: Replaced jarring audio alarms with gentle haptic vibrations and warm yellow LEDs to prompt medication intake without causing cognitive overload.Glanceable Caregiver UI: Designed a passive, zero-interaction display for the caregiver band that instantly mirrors the patient's status via universal color codes (Green = Confirmed, Red = Missed).
System Architecture & Engineering
Microcontroller Prototyping: Built and wired the functional physical prototypes utilizing Arduino Nano boards, haptic motors, and multi-state LED modules.Real-Time BLE Synchronization: Programmed custom logic to handle Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) communication, ensuring latency-free syncing between the dual bands and the smartphone hub.Power State Management: Architected firmware sleep-mode logic to optimize the lithium-ion batteries, automatically reducing background BLE transmissions to guarantee reliable 24-hour daily wear.
The Final Hardware Prototype
Translating calm technology principles into a fully functional, BLE-synced physical wearable.
1. Setup & Hardware Integration Relational Onboarding: Customizes the app's emotional tone based on the caregiver-patient relationship. Guided Pairing: Provides step-by-step visual cues to seamlessly connect the Bluetooth wristbands. Customizable Focus: Allows caregivers to tailor the system specifically for medication, movement, or both.
2. Core Scheduling & Monitoring Task Scheduling: Enables quick, simple input for complex medication schedules and daily activities. Real-Time Dashboard: Instantly updates with color-coded confirmations when the patient presses their band. Historical Logging: Generates exportable adherence and movement reports to share with healthcare providers. Accessible UI: Uses large tap targets and strictly limits notifications to prevent caregiver burnout.
The Build
Relational Onboarding & Setup
