Connected care · Human-centered AI
MoMoConnected care for pets and their people.
A pet companion robot and app concept for checking in on pets and responding remotely when owners are away.
The challenge: turn remote monitoring into meaningful, multisensory interaction.
Open the interactive prototype
Problem & role
Seeing a pet is only the first step in responding.
When pets show distress while alone, a camera helps owners see what is happening—but offers limited ways to respond.
Surveys and interviews pointed to familiar scents, soothing audio, interactive play, and captured memories as opportunities for more responsive care.
Research notes · interviews, survey & practical constraints
Comfort, beyond a camera.
A cat owner and a dog owner described stress during separation and wanted familiar scents, soothing audio, and more responsive interaction.
Connection that continues.
Respondents valued emotional comfort, interactive play, and memory preservation. Existing coping methods felt helpful but incomplete.
Care without more work.
Owners also expected low maintenance, stability, and safety around active pets. Interview feedback put a reasonable price at $100–$250; this is a stated preference, not a cost estimate.
Design decisions
Pair monitoring with ways to comfort and connect.
Design for more than sight and sound.
MoMo pairs monitoring with scent, audio, and projection-based interaction to explore remote companionship beyond sight and sound.
Design tension More ways to respond also mean more physical components. The form exploration brings sensing and interaction modules into one compact body.
Sense the moment
The concept combines camera, microphone, and sensor inputs to help owners review behavior. These cues do not establish a pet’s emotional state.
Offer a response
Proposed scent, audio, and projection controls explore ways to interact remotely. Their effects still require validation.
Keep the owner connected
The app surfaces feedback, supports direct control, and records moments for later review.
Keep the owner in control.
The original concept proposes behavior rules and notifications. The current prototype focuses on manual controls, visible feedback, and stopping an interaction.
Design tension Automation could reduce effort, but acting on an incorrect signal could prompt an unwanted response. Automated detection and responses remain unvalidated concepts.
- 01Detect
- 02Analyze
- 03Notify
- 04Respond
- 05Interact
- 06Record
Proposed interaction loop, not an implemented sensing pipeline. Detection reliability and appropriate responses need evaluation.
Design development
Connect the app’s core paths with a stable physical form.
The wireframes connect four core paths: check pet status, monitor, respond, and revisit moments. The redesigned app carries these paths into one consistent system.
01 / Check in & respond
Home opens monitoring. Watch, Scent, and Interact are modes within the same control surface.
Home / Quick controls
Check in, then choose how to respond.
Watch / Check pet status
Selected setting → applied setting
Scent / Choose, adjust, apply
← ■ →
↓
Interact / Movement, voice, projection
Build the body around stability and interaction.
The physical form develops from a rounded, symmetrical base to a defined sensing panel, then adds multisensory modules. Stability and safe movement around pets guide the shape.
Material direction An ABS shell, anodized aluminum camera frame, protective anti-reflective glass, and a silicone scent nozzle balance the intended durability and interaction needs.
Final experience
Check in, respond, and revisit shared moments.
Explore the redesigned screens below. These interactive previews use original MoMo photography; camera, device controls, playback, and reservations are simulated.
From a quick check
to a closer look.
Home brings pet status, camera access, and quick controls together. Profiles pair pet details with captured moments.
Closer, wherever you are.
YOUR LITTLE FAMILY
Home, within reach.
Quick controls
Made for small momentsYour pets
My pets
A place for every little personality.
PART OF THE FAMILY
Doge
Your little companion.
- Age
- 2 years
- Weight
- 10 lb
Captured moments
May 7, 2025The little things, kept close.
Respond in the moment
Monitor, soothe, and interact.
The camera preview stays visible while Watch, Scent, and Interact modes keep each task focused.
Monitoring
A little connection goes a long way.
Stay a little closer. Choose Scent for familiar comfort, or Interact to connect through movement and voice.
Monitoring
A little connection goes a long way.
A familiar comfort
Concept controls · no scent is released.
Monitoring
A little connection goes a long way.
A moment together
Move, speak, or turn on projection.
Press and hold
to preview a direction.
Preview only. No robot or microphone is connected.
Moments
Little memories. Always close.
A moment at home
Captured moments · MoMo sample gallery
More little moments
From your galleryBeyond the live moment
Revisit moments. Share new experiences.
Recorded clips let owners revisit their pet’s activities, pause playback, and move between moments. Workshops extend the experience into shared learning, with activities such as making scent bottles and calming toys.
Remember · Learn · ReconnectWorkshops
Make something. Share a moment.
More ways to feel close.
Small activities. Shared memories.
The physical companion
A rounded body, viewed from multiple angles.
Outcome & reflection
A connected-care concept, with real-world validation still ahead.
The concept combines a physical companion with monitoring, scent control, remote interaction, memories, and workshops.
The result is an interaction concept, not a validated treatment for separation anxiety. Hardware feasibility and everyday use remain open questions.
Questions for the next stage
Does the response help?
Validate scent composition, exposure, and physical interactions with appropriate veterinary and hardware expertise before evaluating use around pets.
Can owners trust the signals?
Test whether owners distinguish observed behavior from uncertain interpretations and can stop an unwanted action.
Does care stay simple?
Test setup, maintenance, and daily use against the low-effort experience owners wanted.
Next project / 01
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Explore the case study