For this project, I investigated how design and technology can address pet separation anxiety and improve the emotional well-being of both pets and their owners.
User Designer
Industrial Designer
Apr 2025 - June 2025
10 weeks
Existing pet-care solutions such as cameras, toys, and treat dispensers focus on single functions, leaving a gap for holistic, emotionally attuned products. Through interviews with dog owners and market research, five key needs emerged: emotional reassurance, seamless home integration, data-driven insights, interactive engagement, and affordability. Research in veterinary behavioral science reinforced that human-like interaction and mental stimulation can significantly reduce anxiety in dogs. The project aims to unify these needs within one cohesive product experience.
The final solution, Doogle Assistant, is a smart, emotionally intelligent pet companion that helps ease separation anxiety by allowing meaningful interaction between owners and their dogs from anywhere. Integrated into the Google Home ecosystem, it combines live video, two-way audio, treat dispensing, and AI-driven behaviour insights into one cohesive experience. The device connects through the Google Home app, enabling users to monitor, comfort, and engage with their pets in real time while receiving wellness summaries that interpret activity and mood patterns. Designed to blend naturally into the modern home environment, Doogle Assistant transforms pet monitoring from a purely functional task into an emotionally supportive and aesthetically integrated experience—reassuring pets and providing peace of mind for owners.
To ground the project in real experiences, I conducted interviews with five dog owners across different living situations and routines, uncovering insights into daily challenges, emotional pain points, and unmet needs around connection, reassurance, and convenience. I synthesized this research into key opportunity areas—emotional connection, seamless home integration, intelligent feedback, and accessibility—and developed design criteria that guided my concept exploration.
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On top of addressing the insights, I also wanted my design to meet these requirements:
Live video and audio connection
App integration for control and logging
Users should be able to access AI-powered behaviour summaries
A design that pet owners wouldn’t just tolerate—but love having on display.
The design journey began with a playful, bone-shaped prototype inspired by dog toys but evolved toward a stationary, vertically oriented form that better aligned with Google’s minimalist aesthetic and functional demands. This shift allowed for improved component organization, durability, and visual harmony within home environments.
The final design features a 10" × 8" smart display with full Google tablet functionality, a fabric-wrapped speaker dome for two-way audio, a subtle treat dispenser, and a 45° screen tilt optimized for dog eye level.
Check out my final presentation!