Pooch
2021 | Product Design Workshop | MDes Project
Instructor: Martin Thaler | Team: Luce James, Ken Pan, Sue Subin, myself
IIT Institute of Design x CareBand Thirdwave
Our task was to define a product for pets for our client ThirdWave, formerly CareBand. The outcome was Pooch, a wearable device for dogs which can track location and behavior, while connecting users to a network of local dog owners. As of January 2022, ThirdWave is collecting interested participants through their early access site, MyPooch.
User Reseach
Our team developed the need and opportunity space for a location and activity tracking system for pets. Through primary and secondary research, we gained understanding of the psychological context for using the CareBand technology with pets, pet behavior, human behavior, and the relationships between the two. We used a human- and animal-centered design perspective to define the product value.
We conducted 17 in-depth interviews among dog caretakers and service providers, and a survey that received over 500 responses.
Insights to Values
Users were found to be either more Emotional or Functional dog owners, thus we balanced the values of the system features to cater to both.
Our insights led to four key values for this product system:
Training→ Motivation
Provide tools that motivate owners to be accountable, build better habits, and grow the relationship.
Context→ Acclimation
Enable a better shared experience by easing the transition between different environments.
Care→ Clarity
Demystify wellbeing information and make tangible suggestions for the present.
Emotion→ Peace of mind
Translate dog behaviors into state of mind for owners to understand and empathize.
Concept Development & Prototyping
Using our opportunities as focal points we had a brainstorming session to produce a range of concepts, functionality, and use cases
We then clustered these to allow us to understand areas of potential directions
We used these clusters to build a ‘co-creation kit’ which summarized our ideas into illustrations which could be easily understood by our participants
With a co-creation kit (above) composed of sketch concepts, prioritization matrices, and lots of stickie notes for comments, we received responses from 5 participants.
The purpose was to generate ideas from their experience as dog caretakers and validate our sketch concepts and assumptions.
What the dog saw, Wizard of Oz prototype
“Wizard of Oz” Prototype
Curious what it might be like to experience life as a dog, we tested what objects or scenes dogs could capture. Through this, we were able to see through the eyes of the dog. We found that dogs can see things that people pass by. Dog owners are curious to learn what their dog experiences, their dog's happy moments, and the dog's behavior when they are with or without them.
Testing fit with CLO3D
Sketching and building foamcore model
Figma mockup of user interface
A Connected Experience
Pooch is designed to stay connected in a multitude of locations. In order to do so, it should have the ability to connect to Internet via WiFi, Bluetooth for pairing, and LoRa for remote network connection.
The device hardware is composed of the assembly shown as one possible configuration.
The casing was designed as two injection molded nylon sides with snap fit closure. The angled surfaces to enable the camera to tilt up for pictures.
The LED strip on the front side of the casing will illuminate the bone inlay for notifications.
The device splits apart such that the battery can be charged separately from the sensor-side of the device. The back casing component contains the various biometric sensors, accelerometers, and antennae.
The device was designed to interface and charge using a small connector, such as a lightning bolt or micro-usb port.
