Motivation My motivation for this Bachelor Project is based on very personal experiences. Enzo is a brindle Akita Inu, a Japanese dog breed famously known as “Hachi: A dog’s Tale”, from a movie produced in 2009. The year Enzo turned five years old, he started suffering of an unknown and unnamed autoimmune disease, which most probably is triggered by heat. In the summer of 2019, the break-out was particularly intense, resulting in an in-patient stay of five nights at a veterinary clinic. Afraid of losing Enzo, these five nights were a most unpleasant experience. The decision to utilize this negative incident caused by heat, to design something that creates awareness was my motivational force in this case.
My intrinsic motivation is not solely based on negative experiences. Asking myself how I could enhance, celebrate and enjoy the togetherness with my closest friend, embodies my motivational core for this project. I plan to submerge myself into a world where dogs are being part of a family, enjoying the role of an emotional, respectful and intelligent companion. Including simple Arduino sensors, this project is additionally about technology-enhanced wearables. Although, it is not my main focus for this particular design project.
Enzo’s heat sensibility led towards various approaches on how to capture and communicate vital information to me and the dog.
On both pictures: visible rush on Enzo’s skin caused by temperatures over 28 degrees celcius.
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