STRAYBOWL
Every time on the road I go back home in my community, I always notice that there are several stray pets, including dogs and cats, who are lying on the edge of the trash can, looking for their next meal. StrayBowl is the product to help them or improve their present situations.
Research
To find out what kind of troubles that stray pets are confronting and what is their current situation, I organized a questionnaire research. 78 individuals, ranging from teenagers to middle-aged, laborers to executives and pet lovers to non-pet lovers, participated in these research.
From this research, we could boil down three main points:
Stray pets are increasingly prevalent nowadays.
The biggest problem of stray pets is the unstable food source.
The majority of people would like to provide some pet food for stray pets.
Thus, it is obvious that if I can solve the food issue or remit the food pressure, stray pets' condition would be much better. However, how to provide a stable food source is the biggest difficulty in my design.
Main Issues
I immediately come up with the idea that what if there is one kind of bowl that people living in the nearby community could supply pet food, providing a stable food source for stray pets. But I encountered several great problems.
Firstly, to make sure bowls are supplied when they are about empty, bowls undoubtedly should have a sensor system, which would supervise the food value. Besides, bowls should have the ability to inform the pet lovers or volunteers that the food is deficient. Furthermore, energy supply is a big concern.
In general, there are three main issues in my design:
Energy supply.
Automatically inform and sensor system.
Sustainable development mechanism. (Considering this product is based on spontaneous moves)
Solutions
In order to solve those main problems listed above, I searched a lot of information online. As to the energy supply, the best way to resolve the problem is using the solar energy. With the flexible solar cell panels attaching on the edge of the bowl, it is possible to provide enough energy for other systems.
Regarding the demand of evaluating how many foods are left and informing nearby providers in time, Stray bowl should have a weight sensing system and deliver notification through an app at the same time.
Exploded View
In terms of sustainable development, the whole program would be more feasible if there exist some pet food companies investing on products by putting some advertisement on the stray bowl's LED display. Simultaneously, the LED would play a role of breathing lamp, which would attract stray pets.
Rendering Effect
Sectional View
App Design
This app basically based on the function of noting individuals that there are stray bowls that are deficient of pet food and need to be supplied.
Besides the main function, the app also includes other important functions: it provides a way buying pet food that would be convenient to those who do not have pet food; it also allows individuals to pay for other pet lovers to supply stray bowls due to inconvenience.
Process Framework
Interfaces Display
Login
Find Straybowls
Check Bowls' Status and Supply
Store; Pay for Pet Food
Personal Info; Message
