Project Comfort Companion

 Comfort Companion is an innovative, child-friendly medical support device designed to reduce stress, fear, and isolation experienced by children undergoing hospital care. Built into a soft, comforting stuffed animal, the device integrates early-stage technology that will eventually support health monitoring and AI-powered emotional assistance.

Our goal is to merge comfort and clinical value, giving children a companion that feels familiar and soothing while also supporting caregivers and medical staff.

Comfort Companion is a smart stuffed animal equipped with essential hardware and sensors to support emotional and physical well-being. The current prototype includes:

• A Raspberry Pi for internal processing
• A compact projector built into the plush interior
• A heart rate monitor 
• A temperature sensor
• A custom internal housing structure that holds hardware securely and safely
• Early-stage materials research to ensure the device is durable, child-safe, and water resistant
   

All components are designed to be unobtrusive, preserving the softness and familiarity of a traditional stuffed animal.

The Comfort Companion is designed to:

• Provide comfort and emotional reassurance through a soft, familiar form
• Monitor heart rate and body temperature through the incorporation of sensors in the paws, offering caregivers helpful real-time data
• Use its projected display for calming images, videos, or interactive engagement
• Eventually support AI-driven conversation, tailored to answer questions and help children better understand their medical situation
• Offer distraction, companionship, and improved emotional regulation during stressful procedures or long hospital stays

Children in hospitals face:

• High stress, fear, and emotional isolation
• Long distances from home and limited contact with familiar environments
• Difficulty understanding medical procedures
• Emotional burdens that can impact recovery and mental health
   

Medical devices can feel intimidating, and hospital environments rarely prioritize emotional comfort.
Comfort Companion directly addresses this gap by pairing psychological support with gentle health monitoring in a child-friendly form.

Comfort Companion blends physical comfort with unobtrusive technology:

• The plush exterior reduces anxiety and provides a sense of security
• Embedded heart rate and temperature sensors allow for natural, non-invasive monitoring
• The projector and Raspberry Pi create a platform for interactive learning or soothing content
• Future AI functionality will help the device:
  • Answer simple questions about medical procedures
  • Reduce fear through age-appropriate explanations
  • Provide emotional encouragement and coping strategie 
• Water-resistant and durable materials support long-term use in clinical environments
   

With these features, Comfort Companion serves as both a comfort object and a supportive medical tool—a rare combination in pediatric care.

The device is designed around the emotional and psychological needs of hospitalized children, informed by conversations with caregivers, pediatric staff, and families.

More specifically,  information, survey data, and regulatory guidance was collected from ICAN (International Conference for Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders), CHOA (Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta), and conversations with children who have been hospitalized for extended periods of time.  

Comfort Companion ensures technology never feels intimidating.
All hardware is contained in a secure, custom housing that maintains:

• Softness
• Safety
• Ease of cleaning
• Durability

There are no products currently on the market that combine all of these technological features into a soft, huggable toy. 

Most “stuffed animal projectors” that provide calming visuals only display static images and colors, however, our design incorporates an HD video projector, allowing the child to view video messages from parents sent through an app and watch educational content.
 

The current capstone team is developing the complete hardware system, including sensors, internal structure, and material selection.

They are planning on showcasing a working prototype at the Georgia Tech Fall 2025 Capstone Design Expo, demonstrating the abilities of the sensors and projector and showing how it is securely packed together in a modular, soft, and safe stuffed animal.  

This creates a foundation for future teams to focus on:

• AI software
• Advanced emotional interaction
• Smart sensing and adaptive feedback
   

The project is designed to evolve into a sophisticated support device over multiple development cycles.