CLEANCAT
An Interactive Toy + App
Encourage good habits for kids
overview
Problem
A study found that professional success in life, which is what we want for our kids comes from having done chores as a kid. However, it's hard for kids to focus on something they are not interested in for a long time.
So can we encourage kids the good habit of doing clean-up in a better way?
Solution
An interactive toy that "gamifies" the clean-up.
The interactive toy, which is called CleanCat, includes an interactive projector, cleaning tools, and an App for tracking the progress. The body, housing the projector, is shaped like a cat and can be attached to brooms or mops. It leads children to do cleaning with interesting games using interactive projection, helping them develop the good habit of cleaning up.
The ‘cat’ is a projector that will scan the floor for trash using a distance sensor and project the pictures of fish on the floor. When the trash is swept or mopped, the ‘fish’ will be collected. It makes the whole process of cleanup to be like gathering food for the ‘cat’. At the same time, children’s clean-up achievements will be recorded on the mobile App. There is a wireless charging base for the projector, which looks like a bed for the little ‘cat’.
Duration
Role
Work
Software
Jan 2019
Individual Project
User & market research, ideation and design, CAD modeling, UX & UI, prototyping, video
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Design Process
Discover
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Literature Review
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Interviews
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Empathy Map
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Pain Points
Define
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Problems
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Strategy
Design
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Ideation
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Concept
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Task Flow
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Low-fidelity Prototype
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Refined Concept
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Wireframe
Delivery
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Final UI
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High-fidelity Prototype
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Validate
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Future Improvements
Discover
Research
"Kids Who Do Chores Are More Successful Adults"
In the Harvard Grant Study, the longest running longitudinal study in history, researchers identified two things that people need in order to be happy and successful: love and work ethic. "The study found that professional success in life, which is what we want for our kids comes from having done chores as a kid." ——Lythcott-Haims
So, encouraging kids the good habit of doing chores can be important. However:
For kids, it's never easy to do things they may not be interested in, such as doing chores. It's better to play games.
For parents, having kids do chores doesn't necessarily wind up being less work for parents, sometimes even tougher than doing chores by parents themselves.
Literary Review
Lit review indicates that it is more effective to learn from play, especially for kids aged 3-7.
Interview & Empathy Map
I interviewed two kids and their parents to see their opinions.
Define
Problem + Design Strategy
Problems
1
2
Short-term
Kids are not interested in doing clean-up
Long-term
It is hard to develop the good habit of doing clean-up
Design Strategy
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"Gamify": make it fun to do clean-up
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Metaphor of pet: stimulates kids' empathy and interest
Hardware/
An interactive toy which motivates kids' interest of doing chores
Software/
An App for tracking progress which encourages long-term habit
Design
Hardware Design
The hardware device is designed to "gamify" the clean-up process. It detects trash on the floor and projects reward icons at the certain positions.
Objectives
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Encourage the short-term/immediate clean-up behavior
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Fun and easy to use
Ideation
Selected Concept
CleanCat is an intelligent toy for children aged 3-7 to learn how to clean up.
CleanCat includes an interactive projector, cleaning tools, and an App for tracking the progress. The body, housing the projector, is shaped like a cat and can be attached to brooms or mops. It leads children to do cleaning with interesting games using interactive projection, helping them develop the good habit of cleaning up.
The ‘cat’ is a projector that will scan the floor for trash using a distance sensor and project the pictures of fish on the floor. When the trash is swept or mopped, the ‘fish’ will be collected. It makes the whole process of cleanup to be like gathering food for the ‘cat’. At the same time, children’s clean-up achievements will be recorded on the mobile App. There is a wireless charging base for the projector, which looks like a bed for the little ‘cat’.
Cleaning Tools/
Besom
Mop
Dustpan
Hardware/
An interactive projector
Wireless charging base
Software/
App for tracking progress
Sweeping Mode
An embedded scanner will scan the trash on the floor and project fish at those positions. The "fish" can be "caught" by sweeping the trash into the dustpan.
Mopping Mode
The embedded scanner will scan the dust on the floor and project fish at those positions. The "fish" can be "caught" by mopping.
App Design
The App is designed to track and record the progress. Parents may reward their kids based on their progress, and kids can be encouraged by seeing their achievements.
Objectives
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Encourage the long-term habit
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Easy to understand: visualize the progress
Initial Task Flow
Initial UI Exploration
Connect
Edit Profile
View Progress
Reminders
Community
Set reminder
Refined Task Flow
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Simplified features
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Connect by bluetooth instead of Wi-Fi, which can reduce user actions
Information Architecture
Low-fi Wireframe
User Interfaces
App Prototype
1
2
3
Connect Device
Download and open the App to connect to the interactive projector.
View Progress
Check today's achievements and history to see the progress.
Edit Profile
Customize kitten's name and see how long it has accompanied kids.