People who live in smaller spaces can find it challenging to find room for furniture for themselves and for their pets. In addition to that, there are not many pieces of furniture that are versatile enough to be used for either people or animals. The Transforming Chair is a versatile piece of furniture that provides an elegant solution to this problem by morphing between two states: a papasan chair for humans and a dog bed for dogs.

The Transforming Chair was inspired by a combination of the Hoberman Sphere and the Papasan Chair. The Hoberman Sphere is a toy ball that can expand to three times it's size and the Papasan chair is a comfortable bowl shaped chair. The Transforming chair expands and contracts using the mechanism popularized in the Hoberman’s Sphere. This  allows the chair to expand, from a small chair, for the pet, into a papasan chair, for the human. This also saves space in the homes of users, as the chair can be stored in the smaller phase.

The chair will be comprised of an outer expanding ring conntected to four expanding half rings that attach to a stationary base. When completely contracted a pillow can be placed on the contracted chair for a dog to sit on. When expanded it will be a Papasan chair for people to sit on. 

    Our project is an interactive lawn chair for a dog and human called The Donut. The insides of this donut-shaped chair are hollow, allowing most dogs to run through in case he/she wants shade, or he/she can simply next to the human’s feet in the middle of The Donut. This chair brings dogs and humans together in an environment that is comfortable for both species.

    Average folding lawn chairs today are simple, and not dog friendly. Also, the lush grass underneath dies from a lack of sunlight. In contrast, The Donut was made to give a dog and human a sense of intimacy and companionship surrounded by the outdoors.  Due to the spaces between the layers in the bottom half of the chair, water and sunlight can seep softly and quietly into its interior.  This keeps dogs involved with the outdoors while maintaining shade under the shell of the chair.  With beautifully layered wood, and an in-built seat that blends with the rounded design of The Donut, this chair will be a beautiful piece of furniture for an outdoor space. By creating a comfortable outdoor space for both dogs and humans we help to make the bond between the two species stronger than it is already.

A fun and interactive dog treat dispenser that entertains, trains, and rewards your dog using fetching and feeding techniques.  ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

All pet owners have found themselves feeling guilty when leaving their pets home alone for hours at a time. Days spent home alone tend to result in either extreme boredom or depression and separation anxiety. Our dog treat dispenser tackles some of these issues by entertaining our loved ones in a fun and educational way. 

The dispenser is made with an eye-pleasing interactive maze to attract the attention of the dog after it inserts the ball. To activate this dispenser, the dog must insert a ball at the top of the maze and wait for it to land on a windmill type contraption that spins out treats. Not only is this treat dispenser sure to captivate our pet's attention, but also train them in ways without them even knowing. Pets who use this dispenser will need to master basic fetching and returning skills by placing the ball in the correct area to land inside the maze. Our pets will also have to practice patience when waiting for the ball and treats to dispense out of the bottom. It is time we let this new wave of pet products take over doing the things we are unable to do day to day.  

Trainer is a device that trains your dog basic commands using IBM Watson’s visual recognition API. In our studio, we decided we're changed to create a device that improves lives for dogs especially ones that are stuck all day at home. We looked at training dogs and how that can be improved and noticed that a lot of it is just repetition that can be done by a person but doesn't need to be. We decided to go with IBM’s visual tracking because it was the fastest way to get an accurate reading of the dog’s position. To actually transmit the commands we are using a speaker that has a recording of someone saying the verbal command. To reinforce the commands we wanted to dispense some sort of reward so we decided to make a dog treat dispenser we also wanted verbal encouragement so we added another recording of someone saying "good job".

When you have a large dog, or maybe even an older dog, it can be tough to get to get them into the car. This is a problem when traveling to the park, road trips, or even just taking your dog to the vet. So, to streamline the process and make it easier we made a ramp system that pulls out and is placed on the ground so that a dog can simply walk up the ramp rather than be lifted into the car by their owner. We even took canine comfort into consideration and added a bed and food and water bowls to the top of the ramp to ensure that your pet is comfortable when using our product. With few competitors making a design like ours we at first thought it would be hard to find a target audience. We are aiming to attract people with large dogs, as well as people with old dogs, along with older people in general. It can be hard for someone of age to bend over and pick up their dog, even if the dog is smaller. 

The project that Edward and I have been building is called the DogWash. The DogWash is like a A car wash for your dog. This product exists to help allows owners to help their dirty dogs get clean with minimal effort all around the world. 

Its form is an open, rectangular prism. The two smaller sides are open to allow for easy access for dogs of many various sizes to get in and out. This product has many commercial applications as well. This can be used in Places that have many dogs, such as an animal shelter, are the target audience for this product. or other places that may have dogs.

A clean dog is a happy dog. To use the DogWash, a dog will travels through the front entrance of the DogWash and is immediately met with mops and water. This will allow for a quick and painless cleaning as the dog moves forward in the dog wash.

In the body of this writing, give more detail on how you arrived at this design. What changes have you tested or considered testing? What challenges in the design/build process did you run into?

The Dogwash is a technologically more advanced way of cleaning your dog by using automation rather than manually cleaning it.

Who wants to get on their hands and knees with a hose? Even though nobody likes to clean their dog, it's a necessary responsibility that comes with having one. To solve this issue, the DogWash presents a clear-cut way of automating this cleaning process by resembling a car wash. The DogWash is the only way to go if you want to make bathing easy for both you and your dog. No more brushing and using a hose outside to get your dog squeaky clean.

$499 is a small price to pay given the lifespan of the DogWash and the amount of time it will save for you to wash your dog. On average, owners spend 45 minutes to an hour each week to wash their dog. This product will save tons of time, allowing the pet owner to spend time on more enjoyable things. Our goal is to target customers that have more than one dog or businesses that see dogs on a daily basis. This includes the vet, Pets Plaza, Pet Co, and dog shelters. We also will target upper class people that are willing to spend an extra dollar.

The DogWash was created for two simple reasons: Firstly, we want to make a profit and find a suitable place in the the pet industry that has not been overtaken by large corporations. Secondly, we want to make the DogWash the new norm for cleaning your dog. The comfort aspect of the design is our current objective. Making the dog feel safe while using this product is our trajectory for the rest of the semester. Effectiveness is also an important aspect because it ensures you can trust the brand and product to get the job done well. 

The Swift Snack is a pet toy that helps pet lovers entertain their pets when they are not around by acting like an animal of prey that plays dead when attacked. We want to do this by making a silicone bone that has wheels that dispense food at random.

In researching the standard pet ball, we found that there were many unaddressed problems, including the pet getting their mouth stuck on the ball, boring, design and cheap materials. We also believed that if someone is going to pay money, they should get more value. Our brand believes people should stop settling for a mediocre product and should demand more for their pet’s entertainment. The Swift Snack allows your pet to be entertained and, most importantly, safe.

In addition to being safe and entertaining, our pet toy needed to be different from the vast array of others on the market. To do that, we needed to think outside the box. We decided to make this pet toy move on its own and able to sense pressure from your pet so it could mimic an animal by playing dead. With this idea, we are hoping there are many opportunities for us, but more importantly, you.

We did not get much customer feedback, but we were told that it needs to be more specific, but easier to explain. We wanted to brand our product as something that is completely different from what people are used to. To do that, we showed people precedents and then showed them what would happen if it moved. For the future, we are hoping to show this to as many people as we can because we believe there will be one person that believes in us.

The Cage 'n Desk is a foldable desk that allows pet owners to be more mobile. The specially-designed pet cage at the bottom folds into a suitcase you can take with you while you travel.

The initial prototypes were cardboard but the final design will be made of wood with leather strap connections. The only way we could get this to fold is to have a leather strap connection from a side to the bottom of the desk. It folds with two sides up and a back to the desk. The sides fold in first to create a flat surface and then the back folds on top of that. Attached to the back is a strap for the suitcase carrier. 

 We tried to use a hinge connection for about 15 weeks and it did not work. Finally, we figured out that the strap connection would allow the sides to fold correctly. We used the strap on a wood platform to finish the final product. The base will also be made of wood and fold similarly to the top of the desk. Our target audience are traveling pet owners that are always on the go. The cage is to suit the size of the animal because it will be big enough to house any dog. It should be a mobile, comfortable way to bring a dog around. 

Our project is a cat bunk bed called the Stair Sleeper. Our product is a three layer bunk bed that folds in on itself to make storage and transportation easier. 

The idea originally came from a visit to the animal shelter. We wanted to conserve space inside the cats’ cages and give them a place to sleep and play. A finalized version of this product would incorporate toys and scratch padding so the cats can play and bedding so they can sleep more comfortably. It could also be used in smaller homes or apartments where people have limited space. It is easily stored and saves space with its multiple layers. Therefore, people with one or more cats in a small living space would benefit from owning the Stair Sleeper.

Our product is primarily made out of wood, but softer materials for the cats to scratch and play on could also be added. Originally, it was just a simple bunk bed design. This evolved into a three layer design with alternating platforms around a central piece. This allows our product to stand out among any other similar products on the market. The final product has the three layers and can also fold in on itself. The three platforms all connect in the the middle piece at different heights. We used threaded rods for the platforms to rotate around and hinges for the platforms to fold. A person can fold/push the sides in towards the middle to put it into a flat form that is more convenient. Overall, this product would be easy to use and very beneficial to shelters and homes in need of versatile space for their cats.