Aapi
A Smart collar for Dogs
The Challenge
As a dog lover, I often find myself smiling at my pet chasing his tail—but beneath the joy lies a constant worry: What if I lose him? That fear is real for every pet owner. This project was born out of that very anxiety. I wanted to build something reliable—a system that not only helps locate lost pets but also understands their needs and health better. Relying solely on a vet for every concern isn’t always practical, and Googling symptoms often leads to unnecessary panic. What if AI could offer pet-specific insights instead? I’ve seen posters of missing pets around my street and imagined the heartbreak behind them. I believe we can reduce that pain. If we have wearables tracking human health, why not give our pets the same care and technology to ensure they’re safe, healthy, and never truly lost?
Every year, over 10 million pets are lost in the U.S., 200,000 in the U.K., and India faces a crisis with 69.3 million homeless cats and dogs. With many pets never reunited through outdated methods, there's a pressing need for smarter GPS-enabled solutions to ensure safety and quick recovery.
Aim & Objectives
To design a smart pet care and tracking system that ensures safety, health monitoring, and peace of mind for pet owners.
Prevent pet loss through real-time GPS tracking.
Monitor pet health using AI-driven insights.
Offer personalized alerts for behavioral or health issues.
Bridge the gap between pet owners, walkers, and emergency responders.
Why Lean UX Methodology?
User-Centric Problem Solving
Lean UX prioritizes continuous user feedback, which helped me stay focused on solving real pet owner and walker problems, rather than building unnecessary features.
Faster Iteration Cycles
The methodology allowed me to quickly ideate, prototype, and test features like GPS tracking and health updates without waiting for full development.
Low-Risk Experimentation
Lean UX embraces assumptions and hypothesis-driven design, which was perfect for validating new ideas like AI health insights before investing resources.
Efficiency for Solo Creators
As an independent designer, Lean UX offered a structured yet flexible approach to move quickly, make decisions based on insights, and document progress effectively.
Primary Research
To delve into the challenges faced by pet owners and walkers, I conducted a survey with 20 participants, receiving 12 complete responses. Additionally, I carried out user interviews with 8 individuals to gain deeper insights into their experiences and expectations regarding smart pet technology. These efforts provided valuable data on their concerns, behaviors, and openness to technological solutions.
Pet Recovery Methods:
Out of 12 survey respondents, 7 found their lost pets independently, while the remaining 5 sought assistance from councils, friends, neighbors, or by posting advertisements.
Delayed Health Awareness:
40% of participants acknowledged realizing their pet's illness later than ideal, highlighting the need for proactive health monitoring tools.
Openness to Technology:
Lean UX embraces assumptions and hypothesis-driven design, which was perfect for validating new ideas like AI health insights before investing resources.
Barriers to Adoption:
The primary obstacles identified were lack of knowledge about the technology, financial constraints, and concerns about potential side effects on pets.
Secondary Research
To support the primary research findings, I conducted secondary research and analyzed five leading pet tech products—Whistle, Tractive, Invoxia, PetPace, and Findster Duo. The competitor analysis focused on key parameters like accuracy, communication range, application compatibility, features, design, and pricing to identify market gaps and opportunities for innovation.
Problem Statement
Pet owners often struggle to monitor their pets' health, location, and daily activities through a single, easy-to-use platform. The lack of an integrated solution leads to confusion in adopting multiple technologies and leaves critical needs—such as health updates, safety alerts, and accessible interfaces—unmet.
Business and User Assumptions
The market is currently dominated by devices like Whistle and Invoxia, yet these often fall short in providing a holistic, user-friendly ecosystem. Our smart collar solution aims to fill this gap by offering a hybrid tracking system (BLE + RFID), a streamlined app interface, and in-app services like insurance and vet recommendations—all tailored to simplify the pet care experience.
By addressing the fragmented nature of existing tools and making pet tech more accessible and intuitive, we aim to redefine how users care for their furry companions.
Hypothesis
We will achieve higher user satisfaction
if the pet owner receives accurate data about their pet’s activities
through the Activity Tracking feature.
We will generate more sales than our competitors
if pet owners and walkers can receive real-time, precise pet location updates using the Location Tracking feature.
We will build a more efficient product
if the pet owner is able to set, edit, and monitor safe zones
through the Virtual Fencing feature.
We will create more demand for our product
if the pet owner receives timely updates about their pet’s vital health signs using Health Monitoring Sensors (activity sensory).
We will increase user trust and app adoption
if pet owners can easily initiate an emergency alert or insurance request when the pet is missing through the in-app emergency call and insurance access feature.
AAPI will be perceived as easy to use
by pet owners, sitters, and walkers and we will know this is true when they successfully initiate critical actions (like emergency calls or tracking) without support during high-stress situations.
Card Sorting
(Mental Model I & II)
To understand the user's mental model, I conducted virtual card sorting using Optimal Workshop. The functions were sorted into categories such as Device, Activity, Health, Profile, Account, and Map. The results revealed some clear patterns:
75% of participants associated ‘GPS’ and ‘tracker’ with Maps.
75% also linked ‘battery,’ ‘Bluetooth,’ and ‘light’ with the Device category.
100% placed ‘history’ in the Account section, and ‘virtual fences’ was linked to the Device section.
Initially, the results were largely aligned with the designer’s expectations, but the exercise was invaluable in refining the terminology and information architecture.
Based on the results from the card sorting activity, the data was further categorized into Home, Vet, Location, and Activity. This clarity about the placement of terms and features paved the way for the next phase: finalizing the persona.
Key Insights from Card Sorting
Intuitive Categorisation
Users naturally associated location-based features (like GPS and tracker) with Maps, affirming the logical grouping of these features in the app.
Consistency in Terminology
The card sorting results helped finalise the language used in the app, ensuring it matched user expectations for clarity and ease of use.
Focus on Device Controls:
Features related to the device, such as battery and Bluetooth, were consistently linked together, highlighting the importance of designing a cohesive device section for ease of access.
Proto Persona
The insights from the card sorting activity provided a clear understanding of users' mental models, which helped identify their priorities and needs. This clarity was instrumental in shaping the photo persona, ensuring it accurately represented the target user’s preferences and behavior.
Two customer journey maps were created to capture the experiences of Ruth, a busy dog owner, and Om, a dog walker. These maps helped visualise their pain points and the emotional journeys related to caring for a pet, which informed the design of the smart collar’s features.
Feature Prioritisation
The Risk Prioritisation Matrix helped categorize and prioritize features based on their importance and ease of implementation. This strategic approach ensured that the most valuable features, like the activity tracker, were prioritized, while more complex tasks were tackled later in the project.
Crazy 8
To rapidly generate diverse ideas, a Crazy 8 ideation exercise was conducted. This method encouraged quick thinking and pushed the boundaries of initial concepts. As a result, eight distinct feature ideas were generated—ranging from emergency alerts and real-time health updates to interactive activity logs—providing a strong foundation for sketching out the initial wireframes.
After narrowing down the most impactful ideas from the Crazy 8 session, initial sketches and low-fidelity wireframes were developed. Once the structure of key screens was in place, a visual direction was established by creating a Style Guide—defining the color palette, typography, icons, and UI components to ensure a consistent and cohesive look throughout the product.
Userflow
The Risk Prioritisation Matrix helped categorize and prioritize features based on their importance and ease of implementation. This strategic approach ensured that the most valuable features, like the activity tracker, were prioritized, while more complex tasks were tackled later in the project.
data flow
From Collar to Cloud: The Aapi AI Intelligence Workflow
Discover how Aapi transforms real-time pet data into actionable insights. Starting from sensor data collected through the smart collar, the information flows seamlessly through cloud-based cleaning, vectorisation, and AI model training. The result? Smart alerts and health insights delivered instantly to your mobile app — helping you monitor your pet's well-being with precision and care.
Hardware design of the aapi smart collar
Sleek Design Meets Smart Pet Care
OLED Display with Status Indicators
Bright and energy-efficient screen shows Bluetooth ID, battery, connectivity, and other real-time status icons to keep pet parents informed at a glance.
Multifunction Side Buttons
Tactile buttons offer quick physical control for emergency alerts, power, and pairing without needing to use the app.
Adjustable, Breathable Strap
Soft yet durable strap with ventilation holes ensures comfort for pets of all sizes, while providing secure fit during all activities.
Built-in Sensors & Charging Port
Displays the number of steps taken during the walk, giving a quick glimpse into your pet's physical activity levels.
Feature 01: Live Walk Tracker
Stay in the loop while your dog walks — anytime, anywhere.
📍 Real-time Location Tracker
Shows Daisy’s current location with instant updates, so pet parents always know where their dog is walking.
🐶 Personalized Pet Greeting
Warm, photo-based welcome that enhances emotional connection — makes the user feel instantly reassured and delighted.
🛡️ Virtual Fence Setup
Users can draw a geofenced boundary (e.g., 0.8 miles) to get alerts if their pet strays beyond the safe zone.
📊 Step Counter & Activity Insights
Displays the number of steps taken during the walk, giving a quick glimpse into your pet's physical activity levels.
Feature 02: Activity & Health Tracker
Track Daisy’s Health & Activity in One Glance
Weekly Activity Graph
Visualises Daisy’s physical activity throughout the week with a bar chart, helping users monitor consistency.
Vital Health Stats
Displays key health metrics like heart rate, hydration, steps, and body temperature with status indicators to ensure Daisy is thriving.
Daily Reminders Section
Lists scheduled activities and appointments for Daisy, promoting routine and timely care.
Navigation Bar
Quick-access icons let users easily switch between home, activity, location, insights, and more options.
Feature 03: Smart Sidebar Navigation
All of Daisy’s Essentials, Just a Tap Away
Bluetooth Network Toggle
Easily enable or disable Bluetooth Low Energy mode to connect and sync Daisy’s smart device with the app.
Pet Care Tools Section
Access features like battery status, light/sound control, virtual fences, and maintenance options to manage the smart collar.
Health & Medical Management
Track Daisy’s health data, including vaccinations, vital measurements, and medical records — all in one place.
Nearby Services Locator
Quickly find nearby vets, daycare centers, groomers, and trainers, ensuring Daisy always has access to top-notch care.
Feature 04: Live Tracking & SOS Alert
Stay Connected with Daisy in Real-Time
SOS Call Button
Quickly contact a pre-set emergency contact (e.g., “Call John”) with one tap in urgent situations involving Daisy.
Virtual Fence Notification
Alerts you when Daisy exits the designated “safe zone” (e.g., Richmond Lane), helping prevent wandering or getting lost.
Activity Stats + Heatmap Toggle
Track Daisy’s daily step count and view historical movement paths with the heatmap feature for deeper behavioral insights.