Context

As static home smart cameras fail at their job in elder care, a mobile solution is needed to alert loved ones of falls that happen 80% of the time in bathrooms (CDC). Families need a way to ensure safety without compromising on dignity or creating the feeling of being constantly watched.

The idea McCann proposed was to have the tech module enclosed in an Omamori, a traditional Japanese good luck amulet. The collar would be similar to a Shimenawa, a style of rope tied around trees in temples as a cleansing ritual.

The module triggers an audible beep three times a day, prompting the dog owner to feed their dog a Kuro snack. In time, this will teach the dog to find and interact with their owner at the beep, giving the camera a clear view to take a picture, send it to AI servers for processing into a text and update their family member.

Research

With my online and offline research talking to potential users and pet store workers, I concluded that the collar should have a Cobra buckle for taking the Omamori on and off the collar, as well as for securing the collar to the dog. The Cobra buckle has a simple movement of opening and closing, able to be done with one hand and with minimal force.

As this product is to be used by the elderly, the collar and the tech module should be as easy to use as possible for people who may be cognitively slower and have less dexterity than the average person.

The collar style being a static loop rather than a single rope with a traditional adjustable buckle ensures both a higher surface area and more comfortable feel for the dog. Eliminating the adjustability factor would ease the complexity of the design for the elderly owner to adjust.

Prototyping

Many paper prototypes were constructed to determine the general shape and proportions correctly. This gave me a net design to cut the fabric from and allowed me to fit the camera module, wireless power reciever and a buzzer into the Omamori.

Tech

A wireless charging reciever was cut down and fit snuggly into the back of the Omamori. This has the important functionality of giving the elderly owners a simple charging user experience and an out of the box solution, as they may not have charging cables around the house.

Stripping down the camera to the bare electronics shows that the JST 4 pin connector (cream coloured box near the top) takes up about 25% of the vertical space. Using this space for a buzzer in a mass produced run would decrease the size of the electronics casing, thereby making the proportions of the Omamori match a smaller dog more closely.

I designed and 3D printed a plastic grommit with a notch to hold the edge of the hole for the camera lens to see through. This hides the scrappy cut edges of the fabric and fixes the lens in place with friction.

Model

The sides of the module were filled with fabric stuffing to soften the look of the Omamori, making it look more plump and full.

The product was tested on a small to medium sized dog, and showed the camera has a good view of the surrounding area, even in confined spaces. User testing confirmed the hypothesis that the Cobra buckles were easy to operate for elderly users, and the Omamori was able to be charged on a wireless charging pad with ease.

Camera

Battery life is a prime concern for the camera module as it needs to function reliably during extended periods of use and minimise intervention from the elderly users. The M5 Stack camera module was selected for its compact size and efficient power consumption for the prototype, which lasted around 4 hours. However the production model would use its own custom circuitry and would have a larger battery for a minimum of 2-3 days or continuous use.