Canine Connect
Canine Connect is an Animal-Computer Interaction (ACI) project focused on addressing communication challenges between dogs and their owners. I developed a button prototype that dogs can press to capture their owner’s attention, supported by an accompanying app concept that delivers notifications to the owner’s phone.
Role: UX Designer - led research and co-developed the prototype in a team of four. I focused on behavioral observation, analysis, and interaction design.
Methods: Design Thinking, Observation, Conversation Analysis, Product Design
Team: 4 designers (student project)
Product Design
Animal-Centered Design
Behavioral Research
Background
During my studies, I worked on an Animal-Computer Interaction (ACI) project that explored how technology could help dogs gain their owner’s attention. Many dog owners fail to recognize or interpret their pet’s signals, leading to missed communication and unmet needs. The project aimed to better understand these interactions and design a solution that supports clearer signaling from dogs to humans.
Challenge
The challenge was to design a solution that helps dogs effectively get their owner’s attention. Through research, I aimed to:
Understand how dogs attempt to communicate with their owners.
Identify key behaviors that result in missed signals.
Design and test a functional prototype based on those behaviors.
1. Research
User Group
I conducted two rounds of observations with two dogs of different temperaments and gender. This diversity helped me identify shared communication challenges across different personality types, as recommended by ISO 9241-210 (7.2.2b). See the two dogs below:
Key Findings
Dogs often rely on subtle cues (e.g. pawing, eye contact, proximity) that are easily overlooked by owners.
Barking was frequently ignored and not a reliable attention-seeking behavior.
Physical closeness was often a fallback when other signals failed.
Owners struggled to interpret when their dog was attempting to get their attention.
These insights formed the design criteria for the prototype: it needed to be simple, tactile, and aligned with attention-seeking behaviors already familiar to dogs.
I followed the Design Thinking framework and adhered to ISO 9241-210:2019 guidelines to ensure a user-centered and structured process. To analyze communication behaviors, I applied Conversation Analysis (CA) and ethnomethodology to transcribed video recordings from two rounds of observations in both home and public environments. These methods helped elicitate subtle communicative behaviors and environmental influences, which is crucial in Animal-Computer Interaction (ACI), where users do not share a common language.
This approach allowed me to move beyond assumptions and ground UX design decisions in observable behavioral patterns.
Sandor
A large, calm, and independent male dog. Uses subtle, quiet cues to communicate, showing how less social dogs seek attention without barking.
Nellie
A small, energetic, and social female dog. Frequently seeks interaction and communicates using pawing, movement, and eye contact.
Research Process
2. Ideation & Prototyping
Ideation Process
We began ideation by individually brainstorming solutions to the attention-gap problem, followed by group discussions and dot voting to align on a shared direction. I contributed by generating and sketching concepts and participating in the evaluation process.
The chosen concept was a physical button that dogs could press to notify their owner, which is inspired directly by pawing behaviors observed during research. We chose to exclude early ideas like a “carryable” button, focusing instead on one clear interaction based on scope and time constraints.
Design Refinement
Testing revealed that the button’s low friction surface was too slippery, distracting the dogs. We addressed this by placing a wettex cloth underneath and planned future versions with higher-friction materials. We also chose to add sound feedback alongside mobile notifications, since the audio gave dogs confirmation that their action had worked, reinforcing learning and preventing random pressing.
Hi-fi Prototypes
I built an Arduino-powered prototype using a hockey puck as the base for the button. To secure the puck and protect the internal components during testing, I used Lego as a structural casing. Lego offered both durability and flexibility, allowing for rapid iteration while withstanding interaction with the dogs.
In parallel, I designed a Figma prototype to simulate mobile notifications, enabling us to test and communicate the full interaction flow without full system integration.
Prototyping
I developed both low- and high-fidelity prototypes to test form, interaction, and feedback mechanisms.
Lo-fi Prototypes
Early sketches helped us explore the prototype’s shape and material. A hockey puck was used to simulate the button due to its size, durability, and paw-friendly shape.
3. Testing
We conducted multiple test sessions with the same two dogs, Sandor and Nellie, to evaluate the button’s usability and effectiveness as a communication tool. The goal was to determine whether dogs could learn to use the button intentionally to gain attention.
Training Method
To introduce the interaction, we used a form of positive reinforcement grounded in an existing behavior, “give paw”. Initially, the button (a hockey puck) was held in the owner’s hand and gradually lowered until it rested on the floor. When the dog touched the button, they received praise and a treat. Over time, we phased out the verbal cue and relied solely on the button interaction.
Iteration and Improvements
Throughout testing, I made iterative changes to support learning and usability:
Surface friction: The puck slid too easily, which distracted the dogs and disrupted interaction. I resolved this by placing a wettex cloth underneath and noted that future iterations would need higher-friction materials.
Sound feedback: I tested versions with and without sound. Sound was retained because it reinforced learning, dogs used the audio cue as confirmation that their action had worked, which reduced random or excessive pressing.
Context awareness: I began training in focused one-on-one sessions and gradually shifted to more natural settings, such as when the owner was occupied. This helped the dogs generalize the interaction and use the button more intentionally.
Results
Both dogs successfully learned the button-pressing behavior and used it to gain attention. Testing showed that the concept is not only learnable but also adaptable across different home environments. These sessions provided meaningful insight into how animals interact with tangible interfaces and what feedback mechanisms support effective learning.
What Did I Learn?
Designing Beyond Humans
Working with dogs as users taught me to shift from verbal feedback to interpreting body language, proximity, and subtle behaviors. It pushed me to think beyond conventional UX patterns.
The Value of Iteration
Small adjustments like reducing slippage or adding sound feedback had a big impact on usability and learning. Iteration was essential not only for the design, but for shaping how the dogs engaged with the product.
Grounding Decisions in Behavior
Ethnomethodology and Conversation Analysis helped me ground every design decision in observed behavior. This ensured the solution was intuitive, usable, and respectful of the animal users.
Personal Reflection
This project challenged me to adapt my design mindset. It made me more attentive, more observant, and reminded me that good design is about listening, even when your users can’t speak.
Outcome
The final prototype was a functional, dog-friendly button integrated with a simulated mobile alert system. Through iterative testing, both participating dogs learned to use the button effectively to gain attention, which validates the interaction model.
While not a production-ready product, the project demonstrated the feasibility of designing communication tools for non-human users using a user-centered, research-driven approach. The outcome served as both a working proof of concept and a case study in applying UX methods within the field of Animal-Computer Interaction (ACI).