Smart MediBox

A smart medicine container built on the ESP32 microcontroller that reminds patients when to take their medicine. The device displays the current time, monitors temperature and humidity, and adjusts a servo-driven shading panel based on ambient light intensity. It can be fully monitored and controlled through a Node-RED dashboard over MQTT.

Developed as part of the EN2853 – Embedded Systems and Applications module.

---

Table of Contents

• Features
• Repository Structure
• Hardware Overview
• Firmware Versions
• Node-RED Dashboard
• Quick Start
• Documentation

---

Features

• Real-time clock – synchronised with NTP over Wi-Fi (UTC offset configurable)
• Medicine alarms – up to 3 configurable alarms with buzzer and LED indication
• Temperature & humidity monitoring – DHT22 sensor with on-screen warnings and MQTT telemetry
• Light-intensity monitoring – dual LDR sensors reporting to the dashboard
• Servo-controlled shading panel – angle calculated from light direction and a tunable control factor
• OLED display – 128 × 64 pixel SSD1306 display for time, warnings, and menu navigation
• 4-button menu – Up / Down / OK / Cancel pushbuttons for local configuration
• Node-RED dashboard – remote monitoring of sensors and remote control of alarms and servo

---

Repository Structure

Smart-MediBox/
├── device-firmware/          # Base firmware (no MQTT)
│   ├── src/
│   │   └── main.cpp          # Main application code
│   └── platformio.ini        # PlatformIO build configuration
├── device-firmware-updates/  # Updated firmware (with MQTT & servo)
│   ├── src/
│   │   └── main.cpp          # Main application code
│   └── platformio.ini        # PlatformIO build configuration
├── nodered-dashboard/
│   └── flows.json            # Node-RED flow export
└── docs/
    ├── hardware.md           # Hardware components and pin assignments
    ├── firmware.md           # Firmware architecture and function reference
    └── nodered-dashboard.md  # Dashboard setup and MQTT protocol

---

Hardware Overview

Component	Description
ESP32 DOIT DevKit V1	Main microcontroller
SSD1306 (128×64 OLED)	Display via I²C
DHT22	Temperature & humidity sensor
Servo motor	Shading panel actuator
LDR × 2	Light-direction detection (left / right)
Buzzer	Alarm tone output
LED	Alarm visual indicator
Pushbuttons × 4	Up / Down / OK / Cancel navigation

For full pin-assignment tables see docs/hardware.md.

---

Firmware Versions

device-firmware (base)

The first iteration of the firmware. Handles time display, alarm management, and basic temperature/humidity warnings without any network connectivity beyond NTP synchronisation.

device-firmware-updates (MQTT-enabled)

The production firmware. Extends the base version with:

• MQTT client (PubSubClient) connected to test.mosquitto.org
• Publishes temperature, humidity, and light-intensity readings
• Subscribes to alarm enable/disable commands and servo control parameters
• Servo position calculated from dual-LDR readings and a configurable control factor

See device-firmware/README.md and device-firmware-updates/README.md for build and flash instructions.

---

Node-RED Dashboard

The dashboard (imported from nodered-dashboard/flows.json) provides:

Panel	Contents
Temperature	Gauge and live line chart
Humidity	Gauge and live line chart
Light Intensity	Gauge and live line chart
Servo Control	Minimum angle slider, control-factor slider, tablet-preset dropdown
Alarm Control	Toggle switches for Alarm 1, 2, and 3

See nodered-dashboard/README.md for import instructions.

---

Quick Start

1. Flash the firmware – open device-firmware-updates/ in VS Code with PlatformIO, build, and upload to the ESP32.
2. Import the Node-RED flow – in Node-RED go to Menu → Import, paste the contents of nodered-dashboard/flows.json, and deploy.
3. Power on the device – the ESP32 connects to Wi-Fi (Wokwi-GUEST by default), syncs the time, and begins publishing sensor data.
4. Open the dashboard – navigate to http://<node-red-host>:1880/ui to monitor and control the MediBox.

---

Documentation

Document	Description
docs/hardware.md	Component list, pin assignments, wiring notes
docs/firmware.md	Firmware architecture, function reference, configuration
docs/nodered-dashboard.md	Dashboard panels, MQTT topics, import guide
device-firmware/README.md	Base firmware build & flash guide
device-firmware-updates/README.md	MQTT firmware build & flash guide
nodered-dashboard/README.md	Node-RED flow import guide