CatGo
IoT Device, User Research & Mobile App Design
Overview
The Problem
Monitoring and comprehending the health and behavior of cats can be a daunting task for pet owners. The lack of an engaging and comprehensive solution often leads to difficulty in effectively monitoring the well-being of their feline companions and identifying potential concerns in a timely manner.
What is the best way to develop a digital platform that addresses the difficulties pet owners face in monitoring and comprehending their cats' health and behavior, while also being concise and all-encompassing?
The Solution
We developed CatGo, an IoT-integrated smart home cat ecosystem that seamlessly connects motion sensors and weight scales, providing a comprehensive solution for monitoring, tracking, and understanding cat's health and behavior.
Timeline
Spring 2023
3 Months
My role
User Researcher
Product Designer
Collaboration
Project manager, UX Researcher, UX Designer, Engineers
Responsibilities
UX Research, Usability Testing, Wireframes, Prototyping, Visual Design
Motivations
As we dove deeper into the problem space, we were blown away by the sheer size of the market and the increasing importance that pet owners are placing on their furry friends' health.
78%
Pet Owners Acquired Pets During Pandemic
81%
Gen-Z have cats as their pets
62%
Spent more money on their pet than usual in the midwest
32%
Gen-Z like to purchased smart monitoring devices
Formative Study
Project Objective
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Understand current cat care practices and the pain points of cat owners.
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Identify user needs in the use of digital devices to help care for the cat.
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Identify opportunities for pervasive technology to improve cat health and monitoring while addressing owner pain points.
Research Methods
Survey
Received 84 valid responses out of a total of 94. The survey was live for 2 weeks.
Diary study
Conducted with the participation of 7 cat owners. The study was run for 7 days.
Key Research Questions
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What types of frustrations, worries, and other emotions do cat owners face while caring for their cat?
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What kind of interactions do they have with their cats on a daily basis?
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What and how do they make decisions regarding their cats' health and care?
Key Findings
Monitor
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Cat owners are concerned about their cat's bowel movements, eating, drinking, and drinking habits, as these are important indicators of their cat's health.
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92% of cat owners are concerned about maintaining proper hygiene for their pets, including bathing and grooming, and keeping their cats healthy.
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98% of cat owners are concerned about their pets' well-being, and they also place a high value on keeping their living environments clean and responding to health concerns immediately.
Understand
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8 out of 9 cat owners miss their cats and are curious about their daily activity when they are away.
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4 out of 9 cat owners use online searches or vet clinics to address and understand their concerns about their cat's health.
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6 cat owners take their cats to the vet annually for check-ups and vaccines, emphasizing the importance of regular monitoring and preventive care.
Target User
Based on our findings we created an empathy map & User Journey Map to help us understand who we are designing for. Our empathy map served as a reference for developing solutions for the persona's problems.
Design Opportunity
How may we make it easier & more engaging for cat owners to monitor, understand, and enhance their interactions with their cats?
Ideation
Based on our user research, here are some initial ideas we brainstormed from our group meeting.
Collect, monitor, display
The behavior of their cat's bowel movement, diet, water intake, and engagement with their daily routine
Alert, understand
Is there anything abnormal about their cat's health or behavior?
Enhance
What can be done to improve the emotional connection between users and their cats?
Maintain
Maintain cats' hygiene while owners are away
User enactments was conducted post-research to help us brainstorm solutions and realize their feasibility in user’s lifestyle
We conducted 5 user enactments, and our participants were cat owners. The prototypes used for this consisted of a way to track the cat’s daily behaviors (ie. feeding, drinking, litter), the cat’s location tracking inside the house, a smart cat toy, and data analytics of the cat’s health and behavior data.
Key Insights
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Daily behavior tracking
Users preferred this idea and find the data about amount versus frequency to be useful
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Smart cat toy
Remote smart toy in intriguing, but not sustainable as cats may get used to it after a while
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Location tracking
Users preferred tracking their cat’s location but not be notified all the time
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Providing insights
Users would rather prefer an intuitive report with recommendations than just viewing raw data
Final Design
Based on the above insights, we propose CatGo
Designed to support monitoring, tracking and understanding your cat’s health and behaviors.
System Architecture
CatGo is a smart cat kit that includes a food bowl, water bowl, and litter box. It tracks weight change and cat behavior through proximity and movement sensors. NFC stickers on furniture and a smart collar track indoor locations. The CatGo mobile app provides access to data and connects users to vets.
Key Features
Key Features 1 - Cat collar
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Cat collars are used to track cat location and unusual behavior.
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This collar relies on NFC stickers for location tracking.
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This location is displayed to the user via the CatGo mobile app.
Key Features 2 - Smart cat kit
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This kit is embedded with a weighing scale that helps users track their cat’s feeding, drinking and bowel movement behavior.
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Motion sensors are also included on these devices to help users know when their cats are visiting these devices throughout the day.
Key Features 3 - CatGo mobile application
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All the data collected from the collar and smart kit will be displayed on CatGo. It helps the user understand how their cat is doing by providing weekly reports.
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By averaging the data based on the user's choice of the cat's daily or weekly data, insights and suggestions are provided.
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With this app, users can contact vet clinics if they have any doubts or concerns.
Final Product Video
Reflection
Limitations
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Alternative physical items or chips can be considered for tracking cat location if cats react negatively to collars or NFC stickers.
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The functionality of NFC stickers is limited for tracking cat location, and using too many in a home environment may raise concerns.
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The system mapping for the vet connection in the design can be explored by mapping out the data flow and user journey.
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More complex design options, such as incorporating telemedicine or artificial intelligence, may be considered to enhance the relationship among cats, owners, and the vet.
Next steps
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How can we better understand cat reactions to smart products and improve behavior tracking data?
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How can we improve the physical design to reduce negative cat reactions and ensure better performance?
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How can we market the product with a few strong features that appeal to cat owners, while considering cost?
Insight
From our demo, video shooting, and feedback from others, we learned that:
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Cats interact with the product, so their comfort with the technology is important to consider.
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Rethinking the technologies used to implement the concept may be necessary.
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Considering the cost and emphasizing the health monitoring, advice, and vet service may be crucial, as similar products in the market have not been popular yet.
Meet the our team
Our team consists of four second-year master’s students at the School of Information focusing on the UX track: Bahar Shahmammadova, Kavitha Ajithkumar Panicker, Minshan Tang, and Zejun Wu. Two among us are cat owners! 😽
We got the award of the most feasible design in 5-10 years on the demo day!
