The Montessori EduBox 2.0 is a sophisticated educational device engineered to enhance early childhood learning for children aged 1-3 through a synergy of Montessori principles and advanced technology. This portable system, measuring 15cm x 6cm x 10cm and weighing 350 grams, features a rectangular design with curved edges and a fuzzy-textured exterior for safe, sensory-rich handling. It integrates a microcontroller (Arduino Uno or Raspberry Pi), an MFRC522 NFC reader, and a DFRobot DFPlayer Mini module, supported by custom firmware written in C++ using the Arduino IDE (targeting AVR Nano boards with a 16 MHz clock).
The technical architecture comprises four operational modes, each activated via a mode selection button (Pin 5, INPUT_PULLUP) with debouncing (200ms delay) to ensure reliability. The Animal Explorer mode uses NFC tags embedded in animal blocks to trigger audio playback (e.g., roars and spelling "L-I-O-N") via the DFPlayer, mapped through a TagMap struct array storing UIDs like "53 AE 0A 5B 41 00 01" to track indices (1-12). Numbers mode scans number cards, delivering counting or addition cues, while ABC Music mode plays educational songs from folder 2, and Sleep Music mode loops lullabies from folder 3, all adjustable with volume controls (Pins 6 and 8).
Hardware connectivity includes SPI for NFC (SS on Pin 10, RST on Pin 9, MOSI/MISO/SCK on standard pins), and a SoftwareSerial interface (RX Pin 3, TX Pin 2) at 9600 baud for the DFPlayer. A busy pin (Pin 4) monitors audio playback. The system initializes with a welcome sound (Track 7), switching modes via button interrupts, and processes RFID detection in a loop, halting after each scan to conserve power.
Testing with five children over two weeks, using pre- and post-tests (out of 10 for numbers/ABCs, 5 for spelling), yielded an 80% improvement in recognition and 40% spelling gain, validated by serial logging. Power efficiency is optimized with low-current components, and future iterations may add Wi-Fi for remote monitoring, aligning with SDG 4 (Quality Education) and SDG 3 (Health and Well-Being) through scalable, affordable design.

Invention Technical Description

The Montessori EduBox 2.0 is a sophisticated educational device engineered to enhance early childhood learning for children aged 1-3 through a synergy of Montessori principles and advanced technology. This portable system, measuring 15cm x 6cm x 10cm and weighing 350 grams, features a rectangular design with curved edges and a fuzzy-textured exterior for safe, sensory-rich handling. It integrates a microcontroller (Arduino Uno or Raspberry Pi), an MFRC522 NFC reader, and a DFRobot DFPlayer Mini module, supported by custom firmware written in C++ using the Arduino IDE (targeting AVR Nano boards with a 16 MHz clock).
The technical architecture comprises four operational modes, each activated via a mode selection button (Pin 5, INPUT_PULLUP) with debouncing (200ms delay) to ensure reliability. The Animal Explorer mode uses NFC tags embedded in animal blocks to trigger audio playback (e.g., roars and spelling "L-I-O-N") via the DFPlayer, mapped through a TagMap struct array storing UIDs like "53 AE 0A 5B 41 00 01" to track indices (1-12). Numbers mode scans number cards, delivering counting or addition cues, while ABC Music mode plays educational songs from folder 2, and Sleep Music mode loops lullabies from folder 3, all adjustable with volume controls (Pins 6 and 8).
Hardware connectivity includes SPI for NFC (SS on Pin 10, RST on Pin 9, MOSI/MISO/SCK on standard pins), and a SoftwareSerial interface (RX Pin 3, TX Pin 2) at 9600 baud for the DFPlayer. A busy pin (Pin 4) monitors audio playback. The system initializes with a welcome sound (Track 7), switching modes via button interrupts, and processes RFID detection in a loop, halting after each scan to conserve power.
Testing with five children over two weeks, using pre- and post-tests (out of 10 for numbers/ABCs, 5 for spelling), yielded an 80% improvement in recognition and 40% spelling gain, validated by serial logging. Power efficiency is optimized with low-current components, and future iterations may add Wi-Fi for remote monitoring, aligning with SDG 4 (Quality Education) and SDG 3 (Health and Well-Being) through scalable, affordable design.

Demostration/ Presentation Video

Poster/ Broucher/ Invention Photo