Rest Assured
What if, instead of constant surveillance, technology could nurture a calm, reciprocal connection between us and our furry babies? Rest Assured is an IoT ambient notification system for pet dog owners to feel confident and less anxious about leaving their dogs home alone. Consisting of a smart device inspired by a resting dog hidden under a blanket, a hand-sewn tail-tracking harness, and a pressure-sensitive cushion, the system achieves the intended user goals by strengthening their emotional bond and encouraging the dog to rest longer within a closed feedback loop.
Roles
Project lead, UX design, physical computing, digital fabrication
Tools
Arduino, Rhino, 3D printing, Figma
Collaborators
Donna Kim, Ahmad Abbasi, Hong Yang
Recognition
Timeline
6 months
Problem
For many dog owners, the sense of disconnection starts from the moment we close the front door. We imagine our furry babies waiting by the door, alone and worried. Despite technologies that allow constant monitoring, we feel helplessly distant and anxious about leaving them home alone. What if, instead of constant surveillance, technology could nurture a calm, reciprocal connection between us and our home-alone companion dogs?
Solution
Primary Research
We interviewed seven dog owners to understand their
1) biographical information,
2) owner health impact,
3) dog's home-alone activities, and
4) use of pet technology.
Key Insight - Perception of Sleep
Participants perceive home-alone dog sleeping as lack of stimulation or boredom.
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Problem
For many dog owners, the sense of disconnection starts from the moment we close the front door. We imagine our furry babies waiting by the door, alone and worried. Despite technologies that allow constant monitoring, we feel helplessly distant and anxious about leaving them home alone. What if, instead of constant surveillance, technology could nurture a calm, reciprocal connection between us and our home-alone companion dogs?
User Flow
User Persona
Adia is a working professional swamped with in-office work, and sometimes business trips too. Even though she tries to return home as soon as she finishes work, she is still consumed by the guilt of not being able to dodge work events and tight deadlines.
She has a pet camera installed in her apartment, but she barely has time to check the camera feed due to the fast-paced nature of tech industry. She is in desperate need of feeling emotionally connected to her home-alone dog when she is not physically with him.
Vance, a university student, just adopted a puppy with separation anxiety. His neighbors recently started complaining about the insistent barking throughout the day, but Vance is on a tight budget living in the expensive NYC, not to even mention hiring a dog trainer.
After taking an animal behavior class offered at his university, Vance learned the benefits of environment enrichments on sheltered dogs. He is excited to explore alternative dog welfare technologies that do not tap into the field of surveillance.
Initial Prototype
Next, we started sketching the "look & feel" and caught ourselves wondering: Every dog looks different, but what do they have in common when sleeping?
With the intention of provoking a sense of “personal, heart-warming, minimalistic, calming, and reassuring,” we chose a design of a sleeping dog hidden under a blanket, with only the nose exposed.
02. Tail Tracking Wearable
To minimize desensitization training for dogs and their owners and address safety concerns, we decided on a doggy pants form factor, borrowing from commercially available dog diapers and pants.
Our key design considerations for doggie panties are in descending priority as follows:
1) safety for the dog,
2) comfort and ease of mobility for the dog,
3) stability of the IMU, and
4) ease of putting on / taking off for the owner.
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03. Pressure Sensing Cushion
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01. Ambient notification device
Rather than being limited by the form factor of a dog-like appliance, we started by brainstorming intuitive interactions users might have with the device.
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Next, we started sketching the "look & feel" and caught ourselves wondering: Every dog looks different, but what do they have in common when sleeping?
With the intention of provoking a sense of “personal, heart-warming, minimalistic, calming, and reassuring,” we chose a design of a sleeping dog hidden under a blanket, with only the nose exposed.
02. Tail Tracking Wearable
To minimize desensitization training for dogs and their owners and address safety concerns, we decided on a doggy pants form factor, borrowing from commercially available dog diapers and pants.
Our key design considerations for doggie panties are in descending priority as follows:
1) safety for the dog,
2) comfort and ease of mobility for the dog,
3) stability of the IMU, and
4) ease of putting on / taking off for the owner.
03. Pressure Sensing Cushion
Breathability
Open palm
Fingerless
Elasticity
Knitted
Adjustable straps
Durability
Placeholder
User Testing
We followed up with the dog owners to understand their
1) initial impression of device
2) potential usage
3) preference for feedback types
4) additional features
Key Insight - Potential Usage
Participants are open to using the system in their everyday life.
Use scenarios are dependent on participants' daily schedules.
Participants see the device as an extension of their pet dog.
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Improved UI/UX
Emotion Detection & Motorized tail
Our current tail-tracking prototype is attached to the base of the tail and may be used for emotional states detection. We plan to incorporate a motorized tail to represent different emotional states in a non-intrusive way.
To understand tail-wagging behavior, we need to establish the natural tail position, accounting for individual and breed differences in each canine user. Such consideration of canine user differences may be calibrated by the human user following instructions on a digital interface.
Demo at a glance
Final Design
Key Results
30
26
2.1k
User interactions
GoFundMe donations
Travel fund raised
Next Steps
Takeaway
One major concern in our approach is: “Are those technology-mediated experiences what animals want to experience or are they rather what humans want for them and for themselves?” In face-to-face interactions with humans, dogs commonly initiate desirable interactions with their owners. “Rest Assured” was conceived to solve an intrinsically human-centered problem, though its framework acknowledges the impact that pet dogs may have on their owner’s physical and mental wellbeing. We plan on recruiting participants with anxious home-alone dogs, assessing user needs through interviews, conducting comparative, longitudinal study with dogs and their owners in their naturalistic environment.
Based on our participants’ genuine interest in understanding their home-alone dogs’ emotional states, the system may further strengthen human-dog emotional bonds by providing educational information unique to each dog, such as expressiveness of tail movement, personality, and rest vs. activity summary along with recommendation.
Special thanks to
Ayodamola Okuseinde, David Carroll, and Harpreet Sareen for their feedback on our prototypes; Barbara Morris for her feedback on writing; Luisa Ruge for her guidance on Animal-Computer Interaction design
This project would have been impossible without the unwavering support from Parsons DT community and open-minded dog owners in our neighborhood during rapid prototyping and user testing.
