Simran Duggal, Mairead Stewart, Greg Martin

"Book Hub is an Arduino-based system that enables people from around the world to stay connected by sending an alert when all participants are available to meet. In particular, Book Hub can help participants plan their next virtual book club meeting by allowing them to let the group know when they’ve finished that week’s reading. When a member of the book club has finished reading and would like to chat about the book, they can pick up their Book Hub box and turn it upside-down, initiating a change in the box’s LED display. Once all members have turned over their boxes and are ready to meet, an alert is triggered. In one household, the alert is sent in the form of a tea kettle turning on and beginning to boil water, in another, the alert is a pattern of blinking LEDs, and in the third household, the alert is a wall hook turning upside down to deposit a set of earbuds onto a chair. Once all the members have their books, tea, and earbuds, they’re ready to have a virtual book club. In recent months, scientists have begun to study the effects of COVID-19 restrictions on mental health. A study by Lee et al. (2020), found increased levels of loneliness and depression in participants as compared to before the pandemic. By encouraging book club members to meet regularly, Book Hub can counter this trend in loneliness and hopefully improve the mental health of its users."