dthunesI have a choice to make regarding the direction of the project, and I'd like to solicit feedback from the community. As I see it, my pill dispensing project can now go one of two ways:
- Universal solution (Accept most pills, from pill bottles - complex and possibly unreliable)
- Cartridge style (Only accept "Pill Minder" cartridges - simple, but possibly proprietary)
Currently, I'm only planning on making a few "finished" machines - one for my grandfather (who has Alzheimer's) and one or two for family friends. But, I want to make the best product I can make, which leads me to an interesting hypothetical.
Who is my target market, and what do I want to do with this machine? Do I want to partner with a large company like Walgreens and have my product only work with Walgreens branded cartridges? This would probably impact the largest number of people. Do I want a universal pill solution - as-seen-on-TV? My target demographic definitely overlaps with theirs. There are clear pros and cons of each choice. Please tell me what you think.
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It is EXTREMELY difficult to get any pharmacy to change their containers. They have to be cheaper and better that the vials they're already using, which is a very thin window. Any of the huge chains already have some crazy contracts about buying new equipment and it's near impossible to get in on that market unless you get a huge company that already has an in to buy your design.
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I wasn't aware of that. We are still planning on building our system as a proof of concept, which hopefully has the ability to push the market towards a solution.
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