Play Away.
A physical computing project
Play Away is an interactive dog toy that helps owners and their dogs feel connected, even when they are apart.
Key Learnings
Arduino, Physical Computing, Physical Prototyping
Collaboration and Communication, Team Work
Research skills, Interviews, Product Testing, User Testing
Final Outcome
Play Away is an interactive dog toy that helps owners and their dogs feel connected, even when apart. Many dogs are left alone for long periods, leading to loneliness or misbehaviour, while owners often feel guilty. Play Away addresses this by giving the owner a toy dog on their desk and the real dog a toy at home. When the owner pats their desk toy, it triggers a sound on the dog’s toy, drawing the dog to play. As the dog interacts with its toy, the owner’s toy wags its tail, creating a shared play experience and keeping them connected.
Scenario
Orla is a part time lecturer living with her partner and her dog, Holly. She has to leave Holly on her own sometimes for long periods of time. She feels so guilty. Holly misses Orla when she is out.
Interview
How do you feel when you have to leave your dog at home?
I feel guilty especially if it's for long and if she hasn't had a walk that day.
How long do you have to leave them at home for usually?
Usually a few hours once a day. Any longer than 6 hours I get worried as she gets gets distressed/ pees / cries/ whines. It would be ideal if someone could check in on her every 3 hours or so.
How are they with being alone? Do they get stressed?
She'll be very needy when I get home. She won't sleep at night and becomes restless and barky throughout the night sometimes. Or the next day will be barking at everyone and everything in the house. Very rarely she might pee inside.
What entertains your dog?
The Kong toy with some peanut butter keeps her entertained for half an hour or so. I don't like giving it to her all the time as she'll want it all the time and she puts on too much weight. She loves tennis balls, puzzles, bones and teddies.
‘Making’
Arduino Code
Arduino code. There were problems with organising code and the tail wag. The ‘If’ statements and ‘loop’ solved this.
Arduino Boards
We tried conductive tape the dog’s side to make the tail wag on the owner’s side. We had to swap out the tape for a button which worked quite well.
The physical computing for the buttons and the servo.
The physical computing for the motion sensor and the noise.
Prototypes
The dog’s side of the interaction. Figuring out the appropriate size and movement for the dog.
An idea for an interactive dog toy. You could put treats in the groves.
A prototype for the tail wag. Finding the right size to fit the Arduino board inside.
Foam prototype for the owners side of the interaction. We were trying to find a nice shape to ‘pet’.
User Testing
Testing how dogs play :)
Finding the appropriate size and place for the owner’s side of the interaction on a desk.
How dogs answer to different noises. The classic squeaky noise worked the best.
Hero Images
Concepts
Small shelves around the house hold different toys for the dog. Every hour, a servo knocks a toy off, providing a new surprise. This keeps the dog entertained, while owners stay connected through playful moments
We loved this fun idea however we wanted something to connect the owner and the dog so we came up with the concept of Playaway
Mind Maps
Initial brain dump! As many ideas as possible.
Initially, the treat dispenser was designed as a clock-like wheel, but we adjusted it to shelves to prevent the dog from waiting by it all day.
We came together. We all tried to develop the shelf idea.