2024 Galleries
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Galleries // 2024 Spark:Spring Student // Mellow Step
Mellow Step
Finalist
Competition: Spark:Spring Student
Designer: Dahyun Kim
Design Type: Transportation & Mobility, dog medical product
Company / Organization / School: Hongik University
Team Members: Nayae Lee
Mellow Step is an automatic urine pad for senior dogs, enabling seamless health monitoring without altering their daily behavior. Unlike wearable devices tracking heart rate and activity, this device focuses on biochemical markers in urine, allowing early detection of chronic illnesses like diabetes and kidney disease. Our design tackles the challenge of dogs hiding illnesses, making early detection difficult. By integrating advanced AI and optical biomarker technology, Mellow Step analyzes urine to identify early disease signs. This real-time monitoring is crucial for maintaining senior dogs' health and preventing rapid deterioration after an illness. The device connects to an app, providing detailed health reports and timely alerts, allowing owners to respond quickly to health concerns. The design fits seamlessly into the dog's routine, collecting and analyzing health data without disruption. This enables continuous health monitoring, improving pets' long-term well-being and owners' quality of life. Our target market includes owners concerned about their aging pets. Mellow Step is based on near-future technology. Currently, similar technologies are being developed for human healthcare and have the potential to be adapted for pet care.
