Paws Off Plant!
An IoT wearable for plant lovin’ cats.
Paws Off Plant! is a wearable IoT device for cats that monitors their location and restricts their access from certain areas of your house. The purpose of this product is to prevent cats from consuming poisonous plants or destroying delicate plants around the house. After uploading a layout of their house, owners will have the ability to create “restricted” areas on their mobile device for their cats around their home. The wearable will detect when a cat wearing the device has entered a restricted area. This prompts the device to give the cat a warning vibration and to notify the owner.
Design Specs
Paws Off Plant includes two main physical components: (1) a transmitter and (2) a harness.
Owners will need to upload the mobile application. On this app, owners will be able to upload a layout of their house and plot the (3) restricted areas on the layout. Now, every time their cat enters a restricted area, the device vibrates and notifies the owner.
Design Rationale
At first, I had to decide on the form of the harness. I started with three iterations of the harness and weighed the pros and cons for each style.
I decided to pursue the last design because of the nature of the product. One of the main functions of the transmitter is to send a warning vibration to the cat when it was entered a restricted area. Knowing this:
- The first choice would not be effective in allowing the cat to feel the vibration and there is risk of the transmitter getting caught and potentially harming the cat.
- The second iteration holds the transmitter directly on the cat’s back — allowing them to feel the vibration better. However, it leaves the transmitter exposed, offering little protection from litter box disasters.
- The last iteration offers the transmitter maximum contact with the cat, as well as a pouch for protection.
Constraints
For this product. I was constrained by resources and limited experience. Due to the lack of materials, I had to use thin fabric to create the harness. This is a potential problem because the material would not withstand constant biting and scratching from cats. Another constrain would be the limited resources and experience with IoT devices. I do not have the materials, nor the expertise, to make the transmitter actually vibrate. Lastly, I am limited to testing on only two cats — one large in size and one small in size.
Purpose of Investigation
The purpose of this investigation is to understand the product’s feasibility and viability in terms of physical form. Is the harness easy to put on? Is the harness staying on? How are the cats reacting to the harness? How well does the transmitter fit into the pouch? Is the transmitter able to stay in the harness’ pouch?
Additionally, as this is a wearable device for cats, it is worth noting that only the user interface that comes into direct contact with the cats is being investigated and prototyped. This means that the mobile application aspect of the product will not be talked about in the following sections.
Prototyping
For the harness, I used: 1 old shirt, 1 button, a sewing kit, a pair of scissors, velcro, glue, and a marker. For the transmitter, I used: cardboard, electrical tape, shiny tape, glue, and nuts.
Steps taken to create harness:
Images of the physical prototype:
Participants
Using the same harness, below are pictures of how it fits both of my cats:
Prototype Evaluation
After conducting the usability test, I found that while the prototype did well overall, there is a lot of room for improvement.
What Worked Well
- Harness did not show signs of tearing. As the cats ran around with the harness, the material proved to be durable enough to normal cat play.
- Texture of the harness did not irritate the cats.
- Pouch remained sewed on to the harness.
- Transmitter was able to stay in the pouch without slipping out.
- Harness left enough room around the cats’ necks.
What Could Improve
- Overall, it is hard to put the harness on. It’s depends entirely on the cats’ mood — they will either let me put it on or claw and bite my hand away.
- The harness is not one size fits all. For my larger cat, the harness is tight around their front legs. This is especially noticeable when they are laying down. For my smaller cat, the harness is entirely too big and can easily slip out of the harness. This is important because it affects the cats’ mobility.
- Transmitter’s effectiveness depends on the fit. The fit of harness determines the amount of pressure the transmitter is pushed against the cats’ back. If the harness is loose, then the transmitter does not lay flat against the cat’s back.
- Transmitter creates a bulk in the harness and leaves an opening. Although the transmitter never slipped out, the opening makes it possible for foreign objects to enter the pouch and possibly damage the transmitter.
Future Recommendations
- For increasing the ease of putting the harness on, I believe that cats will be cats. But it is possible to train cats. I assume positive reinforcement and more training will help owners put the harness on.
- I would make the straps of the harness adjustable so that it can fit various sized cats. Additionally, I would also change the cut of the harness. I would pull back the cuts for the front legs and decrease the area of fabric that covers the back. This prevents the cats from grooming themselves and restricts their front leg movement.
- Changing the shape of the transmitter is a promising idea. If, instead of being a short cylinder, the transmitter was flat, paper-like it would be able to have maximum contact with the cats’ back. It can be padded along the lining of the harness instead of relying on the harness’ fit.
- Adding onto the the design idea in the bullet point above, if the transmitter is lined along the harness, then the harness’ material needs to be more durable (not just the pouch).
Process Reflection
The process of creating a 3D analog model was a fun one. From brainstorming, to sketching, to prototyping, and testing, the process was exciting and ideas were experimental.
In future prototyping assignments, I would be sure to measure, measure, and measure. Because of my excitement, I jumped straight into creating the prototype without measuring my users. Although, it’s not ideal to measure and prototype for one user, it is almost always better than having no user to base the prototype on.
Overall, the process for creating a 3D analog model was straight forward. Paws Off Plant! was a fun project and I hope to keep combining learned processes with experimental ideas.
