Feedback Needed: Raspberry Pi Pico W-Based Portable Medicine Reminder

Shini

Shini

Explorer
Hey folks,
I’ve been planning a personal project with the Raspberry Pi Pico W to help with something important—building a reliable medicine reminder and notification device. This is especially crucial for me because I recently had a transplant, and keeping up with immunosuppressants and other medications is vital for recovery. Now a phone could do this job for me but since I am in post transplant isolation , I might as well try to do something new and fun!

I'm not an expert in electronics or coding, but I know enough to figure things out, and I enjoy putting together practical solutions using microcontrollers. I wanted to share what I’ve been planning so far, and get your feedback or suggestions.

The goal of the project is to create a compact, standalone device that will remind me to take specific medicines at certain times of the day. The device should have:
  • A real-time clock (RTC) to keep accurate time
  • Some logging to record if/when a medicine was taken
  • A buzzer for audio alerts
  • Buttons to acknowledge the alert or snooze it
  • Wi-Fi connectivity to optionally push notifications to my phone or home network
  • Possibly a display that shows the current time and the next medicine schedule.

Hardware I’m planning to use (all sourced from Robocraze):
  • Raspberry Pi Pico W H
  • DS3231 Real Time Clock (RTC) Module
  • 0.96in 6-pin OLED Display
  • 3V CR3028 Lithium-ion Rechargeable Battery
  • TP4056 Lithium Battery Charging Module
  • MT3608 Step-Up Boost Converter Module
  • Buzzer Module
  • Push Buttons ×2
  • Resistors, some Jumper Wires, and a Breadboard.
One thing I’d love input on:
Since the Pico W has Wi-Fi, I’d like to make use of that and maybe send a simple message or notification to my phone (or my parents) when a medicine is taken or skipped. What's the best way to do this over Wi-Fi from the Pico W using MicroPython? I was thinking of Telegram bots but I'm not sure about reliability or how much power that would drain.

Please do comment and provide any valuable input that could help me in this project!
Thank you!

PS: This device is something I’m building for myself. I had a transplant last month, and I need to take several medications multiple times a day—especially immunosuppressants, which are extremely time-sensitive and critical for keeping the transplant safe.
 
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We have a section here called "Electronics & DIY Projects" for this kind of stuff.

Shini said:
  • 3V CR3028 Lithium-ion Rechargeable Battery
  • TP4056 Lithium Battery Charging Module
  • MT3608 Step-Up Boost Converter Module
Click to expand...
Are you thinking of using a CR2032 cell and boosting it to power the Pico W? If that's the case, it won't work. The Pico W is not known for very low power consumption it draws over 100mA, and even more when Wi-Fi is active.

I’d recommend not worrying about running your project on a battery at the beginning. Just power it from any 5V source.


The Raspberry Pi Pico W has a built-in RTC (Real-Time Clock), but your choice of the DS3231 is perfectly fine. In the event that your Pico loses power, the time will still be preserved and accurate.

You can start with something simple, like connecting a buzzer to the Pico that goes off every day at a specific time, such as 10 AM. Add two input buttons one for snooze and one for acknowledge. Upon alert if you press the snooze button, the buzzer will go off again in 5 minutes. If you press the acknowledge button, the buzzer stops, indicating that you’ve taken the medicine.

Once you have this part working, you can move on to adding a display or sending logs over Wi-Fi to other devices.
 
Thanks so much for the detailed response and for pointing me to the right section—I'll make sure to use Electronics & DIY Projects going forward.( Should I repost this thread in that section to attract the right kind of attention?)

The CR2032 not being suitable for powering the Pico W was a mistake on my part—I think I got a bit too focused on making the whole thing as compact and battery-powered as possible without considering the power draw of Wi-Fi. I’ll definitely follow your advice and start with a simple 5V power source for development and testing. Battery optimization can come later once the core functionality is stable.

Also, really appreciate the note about the Pico W having a built-in RTC. I went with the DS3231 mainly for reliability during power loss, but it’s good to know the Pico can keep time in software too.

I love the idea of starting with just a buzzer and basic logic for snooze/acknowledge. I was trying to jump ahead into integrating everything all at once, but breaking it down makes way more sense. Will begin with just the buzzer and buttons, and get that workflow ironed out before I touch the display or Wi-Fi stuff.

Thanks again for taking the time to guide me—it really helps, especially since I’m still getting the hang of this DIY electronics world.
 
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Shini said:
Should I repost this thread in that section to attract the right kind of attention?
Click to expand...
No need, if any moderator feels like moving the thread, they will.


Your choice of using Pico W is spot on, because the community support and code examples are massive and it has Wi-Fi.

Shini said:
I was trying to jump ahead into integrating everything all at once, but breaking it down makes way more sense.
Click to expand...
I do the same mistake from time to time and it bites me in the end.

What language you prefer, C/C++ or micropython?
 
why not both 5v and battery this will add to redundancy as this is quite important if it provides medicine notification

Imagine missing your medicine because for some reason there was no power
 
Heisen said:
I do the same mistake from time to time and it bites me in the end.

What language you prefer, C/C++ or micropython?
Click to expand...
Yeah, I’ve been playing around with the Pico(The one without the wifi module) for a while now and MicroPython has been my go-to—mainly because it’s easy to test and iterate quickly, especially for someone like me who’s still figuring things out. I haven’t dabbled in C/C++ much yet, but maybe someday if I need more performance or control.

And yeah, good to know I’m not the only one who tries to jump ahead too fast , Definitely trying to take it step by step this time!
testingguy said:
why not both 5v and battery this will add to redundancy as this is quite important if it provides medicine notification

Imagine missing your medicine because for some reason there was no power
Click to expand...
For the initial phase and prototyping, I’m planning to power the device via 5V (probably through USB), just to keep things simple while I work on the core logic and get the code stable. Once everything is working reliably—like the RTC-based alerts, button handling, and (hopefully) Wi-Fi notifications—I’ll add battery support with proper charging and failover logic so it can run independently in case of a power cut.

It’ll give me peace of mind knowing there’s a fallback if the main power goes out. Thanks for pointing this out!
 
Shini said:
Yeah, I’ve been playing around with the Pico(The one without the wifi module)
Click to expand...
Same, I also have the non-wifi version, I played with most of the peripherals of RP2040. But I always use C. I am old school.

testingguy said:
why not both 5v and battery this will add to redundancy as this is quite important if it provides medicine notification

Imagine missing your medicine because for some reason there was no power
Click to expand...
Yes it can be added very easily, this module does it all for you, and you don't have to design anything, simply plug your single lipo lithium battery in, connect you load and connect 5V, and all is done. It will prioritize the 5V power when it sees it for powering the load, the moment 5V is gone it switches to battery power, and when you plug 5V again, that will also power the load and charges the battery as well.

Charging current can also configured, which I recommend to be 0.5C.

1744279248263.png


 
Heisen said:
Same, I also have the non-wifi version, I played with most of the peripherals of RP2040. But I always use C. I am old school.


Yes it can be added very easily, this module does it all for you, and you don't have to design anything, simply plug your single lipo lithium battery in, connect you load and connect 5V, and all is done. It will prioritize the 5V power when it sees it for powering the load, the moment 5V is gone it switches to battery power, and when you plug 5V again, that will also power the load and charges the battery as well.

Charging current can also configured, which I recommend to be 0.5C.
Click to expand...
That’s awesome to hear! I really admire people who work with C—it gives you so much control and performance. I’ve been sticking with MicroPython for now since it’s a bit quicker for prototyping and easier to tweak on the go, but I definitely want to dive deeper into C once I’m more comfortable.

And thank you for the tip on the power module! That sounds exactly like what I’d need down the line. I’ll definitely check it out

Also—I'm planning to source all the components for this project from Robocraze. Haven’t used them before though. Have you (or anyone else here) had experience with them? Curious to know how reliable they are in terms of delivery and quality.
 
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