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PETFUSION

A smart terminal with omni-directional mobility and emotion recognition revolutionizes pet companionship for busy Gen Z owners to connect with their furry friends

What it does

A home-roaming pet robot featuring mobile monitoring, voice interaction, and precision feeding. When owners are away, it actively locates pets, analyzes emotions via AI, transmits owner's live voice remotely, and auto-dispenses treats to soothe anxiety.


Your inspiration

Exhausted after overtime? Your pet faces loneliness-induced destruction. 72% of young owners endure this. Existing solutions fail: static cameras (e.g., Furbo) offer passive monitoring; GPS collars (e.g., Fi) lack interaction. We need an ​active presence​ with: ​Omni-directional mobility​ → Approaches hiding pets ​Emotion recognition​ → Decodes whimpers/body language ​Proactive care​ → Dispenses treats during anxiety peaks Bridging absence with AI-driven companionshi


How it works

An Always-Present Companion for Your Pet Intelligent Mobility System Equipped with four Mecanum wheels (diagonally-mounted rollers), the device moves seamlessly in any direction—sideways, diagonally, or rotating—to navigate tight home spaces. An integrated ultrasonic obstacle sensor detects furniture or objects up to 2 meters ahead, enabling smooth collision-free pathfinding. Real-Time Emotion Recognition The 1080p wide-angle camera continuously monitors pet behavior using posture analysis algorithms: Drooped ears + lethargy → Triggers app notification: "Low mood detected" Arched back/puffed fur → Flags potential stress in activity logs Proactive Care Interventions Remote Voice Link: Speak through the mobile app to broadcast your voice instantly. Smart Treat Dispensing: Automatically releases snacks when destructive behaviors (e.g.,scratching furniture) are identified, using a servo-controlled hatch. Health Insights: Generates a daily Pet Activity Digest


Design process

​Integrated Technical Narrative (1067 characters):​​ Commencing with 20+ hand-drawn sketches benchmarked against commercial pet robots, the design evolved from wearables to a mobile terminal prioritizing social expansion (embedded RFID) and emotional intervention (vibration-soothing actuators). Initial mobility studies favored crawler mechanisms, but post-environmental evaluation pivoted to ​Mecanum wheels​ for superior indoor maneuverability at viable cost. Prototyping employed 3D-printed shells with Raspberry Pi hardware stacks, enabling foundational locomotion/obstacle avoidance and API-driven AI integration. A critical failure emerged in the food dispenser: idealized grain-storage geometry caused blockages due to unmodeled servo-motor height in the discharge chute. Operating under commercial 3D-printing constraints precluded reprinting; instead, ​three rounds of chute dimension adjustments​ via manual cutting resolved clearance issues. Final modifications embedded the servo into reconfigured chutes, achieving reliable dispensing under MCU control.


How it is different

Scenario Revolution:​​ Industry's first pet terminal featuring an ​omnidirectional mobility chassis, eliminating surveillance blind spots inherent in fixed-position devices. ​Affective Computing:​​ Integrates ​multi-modal biometrics​ (facial/HRV analysis) for emotional recognition, achieving dimensional leap beyond competitors—SPOTON (location-only) and Whistle (health-only). ​System Integration:​​ Unifies ​four core functions​ (mobile monitoring, voice interaction, precision feeding, anxiety intervention) in a single device, streamlining multi-device coordination costs for Gen Z users.


Future plans

​Future Plans​ ​Hardware: Redesign dispenser with stainless-steel lining + spiral conveyor (fix Prototype 1’s 22% failure rate). ​Emotion AI: On-device engine for real-time mood analysis via posture tracking (no internet). ​Customization: Soft-touch silicone in muted Pantone tones Paw-activated LED halo for night use. ​Value Pitch: "Gen 2 cuts jams by 70% with steel core. Offline Emotion Decoder + touch lights = 24/7 companion."


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