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
Tools
Collaborators
Achievements
Project lead, UX design, physical computing, digital fabrication
Arduino, Rhino, 3D printing, Figma, Tiny Motion Trainer
Donna Kim, Ahmad Abbasi, Hong Yang
To be published in ACM, exhibited at TEI '26
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?
Primary Research
We interviewed seven dog owners to understand their 1) well-being, 2) dog's home-alone activities, and 3) use of pet technology.
Well-Being
All participants primarily report the positive effects of dog ownership on their overall mental and physical well-being, such as increased physical activity, increased presence in their community, a sense of purpose, companionship, and personal growth from taking responsibilities. However, some participants reported that the adjustment period during the initial few months of welcoming their pet dog home caused stress.
Home-Alone Activities
Use Of Pet Technology
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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."
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.
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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Pressure Sensing Cushion
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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."
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.
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.
Pressure Sensing Cushion
Breathability
Open palm
Fingerless
Elasticity
Knitted
Adjustable straps
Durability
Placeholder
User Testing
1) When being instructed to "think aloud" upon their initial contact with the ambient notification device, the most mentioned adjectives were "industrial," "smart device," and "smooth."
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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.
Final Design
Key Results
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. We are actively seeking collaboration with canine behaviorists to pivot towards animal-centric design approach that advocates for animal agency and allows the animal to explore the technology in their own way.
Special thanks to
Ayodamola Okuseinde, David Carroll, and Harpreet Sareen for their feedback on our prototypes; Barbara Morris for her feedback on writing.
This project would have been impossible without the unwavering support from Parsons DT community and open-minded dog owners in our neighborhood during rapid critiques and user testing.