PAWY

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  PAWY-prototype

Inspiration

As an international student from Hangzhou, China, I've experienced firsthand the challenges of being far away from a beloved pet. My cat, Lele, remains back home, and over the past year, our only interactions have been through video chats. This distance has made me deeply aware of the emotional gap that physical separation can create between pets and their owners. Inspired by the advancements in Large Language Models (LLMs) and the engaging interactions facilitated by ChatGPT's Dan mode, where some users role-play and converse with an AI persona, I began to explore how AI could enhance the connection between distant pet owners and their pets. This exploration led to the development of PAWY, an app designed to bridge the gap between heart and home.

What it does

PAWY leverages AI to create realistic and interactive digital models of pets, allowing owners to engage with their furry friends in meaningful ways, despite the miles that may lie between them. The app not only replicates the physical appearance of pets but also their unique behaviors and quirks, making every interaction feel personal and real. Whether it's feeding, playing, or simply spending time together, PAWY aims to strengthen the emotional bond between pets and their owners, ensuring no one feels far from home.

How we built it

Research and Planning: Interviewed some potential users who have pets to gather insights on desired functionalities and emotional touchpoints. Explored existing AI technologies and identified tools suitable for creating lifelike digital representations of pets. Researched existing smart pet devices to determine how to embed the functionality of smart pet devices into the App's flow

Design and Prototyping: Developed wireframes and user interface designs that emphasized ease of use and emotional engagement. Created initial prototypes to test functionality and iterated based on user feedback.

Challenges we ran into

I spend a lot of time on designing the tone of the App: how to be friendly while ensuring clear guidelines. At the same time, feedback system is also a big challenge, how to get feedback with minimum user input and optimize the existing system, I designed it as the last question in the questionnaire flow.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Successfully integrating PAWY with a range of smart pet devices has been a game changer. This feature allows users to interact with their pets in real-time, providing care and companionship through automated feeding, play, and monitoring, enhancing the owner's peace of mind.

What we learned

Working extensively with AI, particularly in generating 3D models and simulating pet behaviors, taught me the possibilities and limitations of current AI technologies. It pushed me to stay on the cutting edge of technological advancements to continuously improve the App. I also have a deeper understanding of the profound emotional impact technology can have. By bridging the gap between pet owners and their pets, I've seen firsthand how innovative use of technology can enhance human (and animal) lives, providing comfort and joy to users.

What's next for PAWY

I want to combine PAWY with a pet wearable device to monitor the pet's heart rate, blood pressure, bone density, etc. in real time. Combining these data and analyzing the pet's health status through machine learning models will enable users to detect health abnormalities in their pets as early as possible. The earlier it is detected, the higher the likelihood of a cure.

Built With

• adobe-illustrator
• figma