Academia Track
Introduction to Project Concept of
Any Time Medicine Vending Machine
D e g r e es of s o ci a l s ta t us a re c l os e l y l i nk e d t o h e a lt h i n eq u al i t ie s . T ho s e w i t h p oo r he a lt h t en d to f al l i n to po v e r t y a n d t h e p oo r t en d t o ha v e
p o o r he a lt h . Ac c o rd i ng t o t h e W o r l d H e a l t h O rg a n iz a ti o n, w i t hi n co u ntr i e s th os e o f l o w e r s oc io e c o n om i c s t ra t a ha v e t h e w o rs t h ea l t h o u tc om e s .
H e a l t h al so a p pe a rs t o h a v e a s t r o ng s oc i a l co m po n en t l i nk in g i t t o e d uc a t io n a nd a cc es s to i n f o rm a ti o n . In t e r ms o f h e a l t h , p ov e r ty i nc l u d es
l o w i nc o me , l o w e d uc a ti o n , s o ci a l e xc l us i on an d e nv i r on me n t al d ec ay . T h e p o o r w i th i n m ost c o un t r i es a r e t ra p pe d i n a cy c le i n w hi ch p ov e r ty
breeds ill health and ill health breeds poverty.
A n y T im e M e di c in e V end i n g M ac h i n e i s a l th o ugh n o t a n e w co n ce p t i n i t s en t i r et y , i t c ou l d p r ov e t o b e us e f ul a nd h e nc e i m p o r ta n t i n d ev e l o pi n g
countries like India where healthcare is utmost critical.
Audi e nc e
A ca d e mia , De ve lo p e rs & S p o n so rs
Background
§ Academia approach towards projects…
 Short-term
 Theory oriented
 Lacks application approach
 Real-life utility is often ignored
§ What happened at idea-presentation competition ?
 Own / others’ ideas were presented
 Only theory…No PoC !
§ Why is this being presented here ?
 As a learning experience for academic community
 New idea and application of theoretical concepts
 For community support in development
 Sponsorship, if any
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iGuide Concept
§ Why was that initiated
 To support development of an idea / project that is technically feasible and also applicable to real world.
 Converting abstract ideas into meaningful block diagrams and working applications.
§ What does it cover
 Technical support in terms of resources, designs.
 Development modules for experiments.
 Hands-on support for industrial modules.
 Supply of open-source hardware as well as software.
§ What it doesn’t cover
 Blatant outsourcing.
 Full financial assistance.
 Labor support.
 Proprietory knowledge and information.
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Why ATMVM ?
§ What are the common problems ?
 Too many people in India die due to lack of diagnosis in first place, availability of medicine in time or in affordable cost as
second.
 Problem aggravates when need of some medicine is urgent and drug-stores are not open or drug is not available in stock.
Esp. during night times.
 In remote areas, rural areas and places where public turnover is less, this is critical issue to have medicine availability
within the patient’s reach.
§ How ATMVM can address those ?
 The idea is that people would be able to access the drugs via patient kiosks in public places such as drug stores, malls,
bus / railway stations, areas where medical stores are limited, on highways, etc.
 Drugs (esp. OTC types) can be made available in affordable rates.
 Regular replenishment can help in not only tracking usage pattern and thus taking precautionary measures but also
ensure availability of drugs 24x7, and hence the name Any Time Medicine…
 First aid can be available easily due to availability of ATMVMs in public places.
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Block Diagram
GSM Link
Inventory
Controller
Data Card
Display &
Keypad
Cash Inlet
CPU
Camera, Mic. &
Speaker
Credit Card
Reader
Mini-Printer
Medicine
Dispenser
# Primary block diagram
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Functioning
§ Any person, intending to utilize the ATMVM will go through
following steps…

Input his personal identification ID (such as PAN No., Aadhar No.,
Passport No. or similar)

Select the medicine needed.

ATMVM will search through inventory & database to verify
identification, create logs and check for availability, etc.

If all-well, machine will display the amount to be paid to complete
1. Select
the purchase.

User will pay with cash or credit / debit card.

Machine then will dispense the medicine.

Transaction is complete.

Besides select-pay-collection mechanism, various other modules
2. Pay
3. Collect
would keep the machine in healthy condition and would make sure
that nothing is going wrong…
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Type of Drugs
§ What kind of drugs will this machine vend ?

OTC drugs

Certain prescription drugs

Consumables

First-aid products
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Critical Modules
§ Camera & microphone input

Camera module is critical to identification process in case of previous offenders / black-listings, etc.

In case of an illiterate or disabled users, keypad and display may not be of full use. Using microphone to analyze oral
commands would be important.

However, illiteracy of users can be overcome by use of properly designed GUI though.
§ Cash collector and credit / debit card reader

Correctly accepting coins, currency notes, credit cards and debit cards would be vital.

Rejection of incorrect & short-value transactions, fake coins / notes, etc. is important.
§ Inventory controller

Controlling the inventory of drugs is critical to functioning of machine. Not only from low inventory levels but also from
misuse or theft cases.

GSM link would enable inventory controller to keep tab on inventory at regular intervals and report it to the control
rooms. That way, replenishment is easy and the tracking too.
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Current Status
§ Done so far…

Since last couple of months, the idea has been converted from abstract concept to block diagram level.

Similar available machines are being studied.
§ Planned next…

Prospective customer survey / study has been planned in order to understand Indian users for such a machine.

Block diagram would be detailed out for each block and module development would be started.

Legal, medical and administrative aspects would be studied for feasibility study and further changes in design.
§ What are hurdles ?

Funds

Timely resource availability & formation of think-tank team
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Next Steps
§ Making it open-source-development project for various modules

The project will soon be launched as a open-source project in order to involve more engineering and science academia.

Open-source-development would also enable the project progress swiftly and finish within time.
§ Backers / sponsors & co-developers invited

Do let us know, if you…
o
Wish to be part of open-source-development team (as an academy or an individual)
o
Can contribute financially
o
Can support for other tasks such as legal & administrative support, customer study, etc.
o
Have any suggestions or ideas to contribute to this work
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Introduction to Project Concept of
Any Time Medicine Vending Machine
© 2013 – Knewron
Knewron is technology knowledge service firm working in niche service areas of techno-managerial business solutions, intelligent embedded systems, new process
design, process re-engineering, analytics, research, product prototype, design & development, corporate trainings and end-to-end customized solutions in various
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contact@knewron.co.in
Website: www.knewron.co.in