PRODUCT DESIGN · IOT2025
LitMate
Overview
LitMate is a smart IoT book light that transforms reading from a solitary activity into a shared experience. Using MQTT protocol, paired devices synchronize in real-time — when your reading partner opens their book, your light responds. A Pomodoro timer visualized through servo-controlled page angles, LED progress strips, and a companion Flutter app work together to build consistent reading habits through accountability and companionship.
Role
Product Designer · App Designer · Hardware Engineer
Year
2025
Disciplines
IOTPRODUCT DESIGNHARDWAREFLUTTERESP32MQTTUXUIMOBILE APPARDUINOUCL
BACKGROUND
Why reading habits keep failing
81% of adults report not reading as much as they wish. Research on 'false hope syndrome' explains the cycle — repeated intention and repeated failure, with no structural support in between. The problem isn't willpower. It's isolation. Reading has no social scaffolding the way exercise or diet do.
CONCEPT
When your partner reads, you know it.
LitMate turns reading into a shared ritual. Two book lights, connected over MQTT — when your partner opens their book, your light responds. The lamp breathes, the LEDs light up. Accountability becomes ambient, presence becomes physical.
HARDWARE
A physical Pomodoro, built into the book
The servo-controlled spine isn't decorative — it's a timer. As a one-hour session progresses, the book closes in 15° increments, giving both you and your partner a glanceable, physical sense of time. LED strips on each side visualize reading progress for both devices simultaneously.
SYSTEM
Real-time sync over MQTT
The ESP32 publishes state changes — open/close, touch interactions, color toggles — to an MQTT broker. Paired devices subscribe and respond within seconds. WiFiManager handles first-time setup through an Access Point, keeping the onboarding frictionless.
FABRICATION
From sketch to laser-cut acrylic
The enclosure is modeled in Rhino and laser-cut from textured acrylic. An origami book structure mounts on the servo arms, creating the kinetic page-fold mechanic that makes time visible.
MOBILE APP
Track, visualize, connect
The companion Flutter app brings reading data to life. Log sessions and page counts during reading, review weekly and monthly statistics, manage your personal library, and join reading groups to compare progress with friends.
APP DESIGN PROCESS
Sketch → Prototype → Build
The app moved from low-fidelity sketches through Figma prototyping to Flutter implementation, iterating on the information architecture to keep habit-tracking as frictionless as possible.
FUTURE
Smaller, smarter, bilateral
The next iteration explores a more compact form factor with digital twin integration — the app controls the physical light directly, reading time syncs automatically, and iOS support is added. The book spine could open from both sides, making each partner's progress visible in a single glance.