What it does
PawBot is a smart robotic dog assistant for pet-friendly offices, providing real-time care, play, and supervision to keep dogs safe, happy, and engaged, enhancing employee focus and productivity while ensuring pets’ well-being.
Your inspiration
The idea came from observing colleagues struggle to balance pet care and work focus post-COVID. While pet-friendly offices have grown by 15% in Europe, many still neglect pets’ needs, causing stress or discomfort. Allowing pets at work improves mental health, with 36% of workers saying it enhances work-life balance, but true care is lacking. PawBot integrates technology and design to prioritise dogs’ well-being while supporting owners’ productivity.
How it works
Our design is an interactive, mobile robot that helps train and manage dogs within pet-friendly zones. It uses AI to monitor the dog’s location and behavior, keeping them inside designated areas. The robot interacts with dogs using visual signals and sound cues, adapting over time to personalize training based on each dog’s progress. It can also teach basic commands and reward good behavior by dispensing treats. The treat system includes controls for portion size and timing. Built with non-toxic, chew-resistant wheels, the robot moves smoothly on various indoor surfaces. It charges wirelessly through a small dock, with a USB-C port as a backup. The system sends alerts if charging fails or the battery runs low. The robot is made from materials that are easy to clean, and the dock includes a UV light that sanitizes the robot while it charges. All functions can be supervised remotely through a mobile app.
Design process
Our team began by exploring global trends focused on health and wellness, human-machine collaboration, and flexible workspaces. For a school project with Drisag—a Belgian office interior company—we related these trends to office environments. We identified stress and burnout as major issues and found that pets in offices can improve mental health. Since the pandemic, millennials especially see pets as emotional support or family alternatives. However, most pet-friendly offices lack proper facilities for animals. With 91 million pet-owning households in Europe (2022), we focused on dog-specific office solutions. We explored market gaps and brainstormed four main directions: Pet Care Scheduling Stations, Pet-Friendly Office Programs, Design Features, and Tech Products. After deeper research, we sketched and developed concepts like tracking collars, dog lounge rooms with UV lamps, energy-fetcher stations, built-in delivery for pet supplies, and smart gardens. Our key concept became an AI-driven office buddy. We defined its features, explored its office role, and integrated elements from other ideas to add value. Finally, we focused on form and materials to ensure it’s office-friendly, non-disruptive, and safe for dogs.
How it is different
Unlike most pet robots that are designed to work in the users home PawBot is specifically designed for a work environment. Our design acts as passive surveillance which allows pet owners to concentrate on their work while being reassured they will be notified should their pet need them. PawBot can move freely around the office space, shadowing and guiding the animal when necessary rather than being stationary or requiring remote controls.
Future plans
PawBot currently works as an independent product which can be used in offices of any size. In the future we would like to offer packages to better suit our clients needs such as Pet Daycare rooms, Emergency services to inform first responders of the location of animals and pet sharing services. These services and features will allow companies to implement pets in their business and actively work towards improving mental health within their workforce.
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