ABSTRACT

A TYPICAL ISSUE IN THE LIVES OF PETS IS SEPARATION ANXIETY, WHICH CAUSES THEM AND THEIR FAMILIES CONSIDERABLE ANXIETY. THE EXISTING PET PRODUCTS ARE NOT VERY GOOD ABOUT IT. PASSIVE HEATING PADS, AUTOMATIC TOYS AND REMOTE CAMERAS CANNOT FEEL ANXIOUS OR GIVE REMOTE COMFORT. OWNERS ARE LEFT HELPLESS AND ASHAMED. WHAT IS LACKING IS A SYSTEM TO KEEP PEOPLE IN THE LOOP. OWNERS NEED TO KNOW HOW ANXIOUS THEIR CATS ARE AT HOME AND, IF THEY ARE, USE ALL SORTS OF CALMING MEASURES. WE CHOSE THE RESEARCH-THROUGH-DESIGN (RTD) METHOD. BASED ON THE ABOVE, SOME PLACES WERE SELECTED FROM A SMALL NUMBER OF EXISTING SITES, AN ONLINE QUESTIONNAIRE (N=385) AND SOME SEMI-STRUCTURED INTERVIEWS WERE CONDUCTED. FOR THE DESIGN PART, WE HAVE PRODUCED SEVERAL 3D MODELS AND HIGH-FIDELITY APPLICATION PROTOTYPES THROUGH ITERATION. LOOPY IS A SMART CAT BED WITH TWO SIZES (L: 45×45CM; S: 38×38CM), AND THIS IS THE RESULT. THERE IS A HEATER, A HEART RATE DETECTION FUNCTION THAT VIBRATES, A LOUDSPEAKER, A TOP-DOWN CAMERA WITH INFRARED SENSING, A MICROPHONE, ETC. A 1:3 SCALE 3D-PRINTED MODEL WAS MADE TO EXAMINE THE SHAPE, THE ARRANGEMENT OF THE VENTS (FIVE ON THE RIGHT SIDE AND ONE AT THE BACK) AND THE DETACHABLE CAT-EAR ORNAMENTS. A HELPER LOOPY APP WAS MADE TO BE A HIGH-FIDELITY CLICKABLE PROTOTYPE. FIVE CAT OWNERS TRIED IT. THE SYSTEM USABILITY SCALE (SUS) SCORE WAS 72.5, AND 80 PER CENT OF THE PEOPLE WANTED TO BUY IT. A WHOLE BRAND SYSTEM HAS BEEN CONSTRUCTED, INCLUDING A LOGO, A SET OF COLORS AND FONTS. HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE ARE USED TOGETHER TO ACHIEVE THE AIM OF HUMAN-IN-THE-LOOP. THE OWNER CAN SEE THE CURRENT CAS IN REAL TIME, WATCH THE LIVE BROADCAST, AND REMOTELY CONTROL THE VOICE, HEATING AND VIBRATION FUNCTIONS. ACCORDING TO THE OWNERS' COMMENTS, THEIR PETS ARE LESS ANXIOUS AND FEEL SAFER. BOTH KINDS OF DETACHABLE CAT-EAR ORNAMENTS AND THE TWO-SIZE PLANS WERE POPULAR. THE ABOVE IS THE RESULT. HUMAN-IN-THE-LOOP TECHNOLOGY CAN BE EMPLOYED TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM OF CAT SEPARATION ANXIETY. BOTH THE TWO SIZES OF THE PHYSICAL DESIGN AND THE WARM, SIMPLE APP INTERFACE ARE WELFARE ORIENTED. IT WILL BENEFIT THE OWNERS AND THE CATS. THIS WORK CAN PROVIDE SOME REFERENCES FOR THE DESIGN OF FUTURE ANIMAL COMPUTER INTERACTION (ACI) THAT FOCUS ON THE EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING OF PETS. THE THREE DIRECTIONS FOR FUTURE WORK ARE: FIRST, ALL ELECTRONIC PROTOTYPES WILL BE DEVELOPED. THE SECOND IS THE LONG-TERM BEHAVIOUR STUDY OF CATS. THE THIRD IS THE ADDITION OF AI ANXIETY PREDICTION.