WhCat-A-Mole
Computer as a Medium to Connect Humen and Their Cats
Weiting Chi & Guanting Chen
My role:
User research and analysis, game design, task flows, testing sensor, interaction design between user and cats, game development and signal communication, final test.
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Developed a remote interactive game for cat owners and their cats; Compared to similar products, WhCat-a-mole allows bidirectional input and output for not only humans but also cats. We conducted a “user survey” for cats to learn about their preferences on the kind of light and type of touch. This project allows cats play within a limited range to avoid running the room; enables users to low-cost DIY.
Who We Designed For
- Young Urban Chinese Driving The Cat Craze
Recent sales data shows that the Chinese are definitely “cat people,” and the number of “cat slaves” is still increasing. According to a 2019 survey done by Tencent Research Institute, a social science research organization established by China’s internet giant Tencent, about 50 million Chinese people are fascinated by cats and cat-related stuff. Among them, young people born after the 1980s and 1990s make up the majority.
- The Young Chinese “Cat Slaves”
According to the research report by Tencent, “cat slaves” are mainly the generation of Chinese who were born in the 1990s and who live far from their hometowns to work in large cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen.
Male
Other
Sociable
Live with Family or Friends
Female
Born After 90s
Insociable
Live Alone
Qing Deng
27 Years old
Graphic designer
“Mimo has the magic to make every bad thing in my life better”
Deng is a happy single. She lives with her cat, Mimo, in a small apartment in Beijing. She sees her Mimo as her kid and dreams her boss will allow her to bring Mimo to work one day.
Annual Income
140k CNY
Psychological dependence on cat
Device
iPad
Laptop -- Windows
Phone -- Android
Why We Design “WhCat-a-mole”
- “Cat Slaves” Need Interaction With Their Cats When They Feel Tired At Work
According to the results of our interview and the big data from Tencent Research Institute, most cat owners living alone regard cats as a factor that can bring them positive energy. So when they’re tired or depressed, they’re more likely to seek relief from interactions with their cats.
There is a kind of miss: I am at work, and my cat is alone at home, not seeing each other for at least eight hours a day...
This is probably the most common “long-distance love” in contemporary society.
- Similar Products On The Market Only Allow One-way Operations
The typical products on the market are pet toys with a camera and app work together to provide pet owners a seamless, rich video experience with their pet remotely. Pet owners remote control the toy to trigger their pet to go into play, then watch the real-time video of the pets’ playing behavior.
In another word, there is only one side that can input. Therefore, it is more like a single-player game rather than a two-player interactive one.
And all of these products require users to buy separated relatively expensive hardware.
Petcube
Wi-Fi Pet Camera
$199
Play Date
Pet Camera Smart Ball
$169
How “WhCat-a-mole” Is Different
- Bidirectional Input & Output
A cat can also input on the interface, and the signal will output on his/her owner’s side so that they can enjoy a tow-players game.
- Playing within a limited range to avoid ruining the room
A cat will play within the interface rather than jump up and down in the room. Therefore, the probability of destroying the room due to the cat’s exciting behaviors will be reduced.
- Low cost
DIY-able
WhCat-a-mole does not require users to purchase hardware. Instead, everyone can DIY it with Arduino.
The Game Model- “Whack-A-Mole”
We chose the “whack-a-mole” game mode based on the characteristics of the cat’s play behavior. Unlike the traditional “whack-a-mole,” the owner of the cat does not whack the mole but “throws” it to his cat to whack.
Cats hit the light spot
(a mole)
Users put a mole into a hole.
Human Computer Interface
Cat Computer Interface
Human Computer Interface
Show the hit of the cat.
Usage Scenario of “WhCat-a-mole”
1. Starting the game
Lunch break:
"Oh, I’m so depressed. Playing with my cat would make me feel better"
2. Attract cat
Cat at home:
When the game starts, the cat's interface will flash to attract the cat's attention.
3. Cat Joins in
Cat joins the game:
Starting hit the flashlights on the interface.
4. More moles
Playing with cat:
“Come on; more moles are waiting to be hit!”
5. Fight!
The Cat owner and his cat are fighting online.
6. Game Over
Back to work:
“I feel much better now ! ”
Task Flows
- Human Side
- Cat Side
Cat Computer Interface - 1
- Testing of Touch Preference of Cats
We tested two popular textures with three different cat participants :
A. Sisal board
B. Corrugated board
The result shows that both materials can be passed through by LED light and arouse the interest of cats. There is no evidence that one material is more popular than the other.
1. Snow
Ten-month-old ragdoll cat
2. Kaki
One-year
Devon Rex
3. Momo
Seven-month_old
Devon Rex
A. Sisal board
1. Snow - Interested
2. Kaki - Interested
3. Momo - Interested
B. Corrugated board
1. Snow - Interested
2. Kaki - Interested
3. Momo - Interested
- Testing of Sensors
1.1 Three kinds of sensors.
1.2 The circuit design diagram of the sensor's detection.
In image 1.1, there are three kinds of sensors chosen to detect the cat paw’s action. From left to right are the SW-18010p vibration sensor, SW-420 vibration sensor, and pressure sensor.
In order to find the most suitable sensor that can detect the cat’s paw’s action, the circuit diagram in image 1.2 is designed with a corresponding Arduino program. Once the sensor detects the action of the cat’s paw, the LED will light up.
2.1 Testing of SW-18010p vibration sensor
2.2 Testing of SW-420 vibration sensor
2.3 Testing of pressure sensor
Problem: Sometimes, the SW-18010p vibration sensor is not sensitive to the action if the strength of the cat’s paw is not enough.
Problem: The SW-420 vibration sensor can not detect the cat’s paw’s action stably, and it is not even stable to human’s finger action.
Problem: The sensitivity of the pressure sensor is extremely low. The contact area is not big enough for the cat’s paw.
Conclusion
The SW-18010p vibration sensor is the most suitable sensor for detecting a cat’s paw action since it has the highest level of stability and sensitivity among all these sensors. Also, the contact area is good enough for the cat’s paw.
Cat Computer Interface - 2
1. Prepare all the required hardware materials.
2. Design the circuit diagram for the project.
3. Connecting all vibration sensors and LED lights with NodeMCU.
4. Coding on Arduino.
5. Get the information about the IP address and the port number.
6. Make sure the blue LED is flashing while uploading the program.
7. Adjust the sensitivity of all the vibration sensor to the most suitable level.
8. Try to extinguish the second LED on the right by the vibration sensor.
9. Finish connecting. Light up all the LED lights by the program.
Human Computer Interface - 1
- App Components
Human Computer Interface - 2
- Visual Style Research
We surveyed two different sets of interfaces and found that 70% of cat owners prefer cute figurative styles to simple ones.
Therefore, we decided to adopt Style B as the visual representation of the user interface.
Style B
Style A
3. The mole is hitten by a cat paw when vibration sensors detect a cat's action on the cat interface.
1. To start the game, players can drag the mole to those five holes.
2. The mole disappears; others remain to count down.
