Make OHI/O
From March 28–30, The Ohio State University hosted Make OHI/O 2025, a high-energy makeathon that brought together 380 students ready to imagine, design, and build impactful projects. With access to custom hardware kits, technical support, and mentorship—both in-person and online—participants spent the weekend tackling real-world challenges and demonstrating their solutions to a live audience of peers, faculty, and tech industry representatives. The competition included 68 teams from 13 schools, representing 29 different majors. A total of $4,000 in prizes were awarded to winning teams.
The event emphasized collaboration, curiosity, and the pursuit of projects that go beyond function to make a difference. Among the standout teams was Team Orange, who took home a $400 Amazon gift card, sponsored by the Patient Safety Technology Challenge for their invention: the Timely Tablet.
Nikhil Bhimireddy and Srikar Maduposu teamed up to develop the Timely Tablet. Their journey into patient safety innovation was deeply personal. Bhimireddy shared how the COVID-19 pandemic first sparked his interest in technological advances to improve medical systems. He reflected on the experience, “I remember hearing about hospitals running out of ventilators, and doctors having to decide who should get one. That really stuck with me.” Bhimireddy wondered how advances in technology and access might prevent such situations in the future.
This desire to use technology for prevention and equity led them to think about more personal experiences, including Bhimireddy’s grandmother, who doesn’t not speak English and takes multiple medications, relying on family support. He said, “My dad has to translate everything into Telugu. She also grew up trusting traditional remedies, so she sometimes skips her meds. It’s been hard on her health.”
Inspired by his grandmother and countless others facing language, cultural, and literacy barriers in healthcare, the team developed the Timely Tablet—a programmable, automatic pill dispenser that helps ensure safe and timely medication use.
A tutorial showing the Timely Tablet dispensing medication.
The device can be scheduled by a family member or other caregiver to dispense the right medication at the right time, every day, for up to 15 days. A simple beep alerts the patient when it's time to take their medication. Bhimireddy noted for individuals like his grandmother, who can rely on someone in their support system to program the device, “it eliminates the need for a patient to read or understand medication instructions on a pill bottle.” He added that in addition to helping patients with low literacy levels, “It’s helpful for patients with conditions like Alzheimer’s, who may forget to take their medications, or Parkinson’s, whose tremors make it difficult to open traditional pill bottles.”
While the team acknowledges their device doesn’t solve all systemic issues, like language barriers or diagnostic errors, they view it as a meaningful step toward safer, more equitable healthcare. Bhimireddy explained, “It’s a small device, but it represents something bigger: the right to understand and follow through on your own care. We want to reduce how often people have to rely on luck, guesswork, or translation just to take a pill safely.”
Team Orange isn’t stopping here. Their experience at Make OHI/O ignited a mission that goes far beyond one weekend of coding. “Our goal is to keep building tools that reduce the need for impossible choices in healthcare—tools that make care more fair and more available.” The Timely Tablet is a clear example of how student-led innovation, fueled by personal stories and powerful motivation, can lead to real-world impact.
