Interactive Cat Toy Competitive Research - IPC Final Project

Over the weekend I decided that my final project for the Introduction to Physical Computing class would be a cat toy. I have wanted to design cat toys and furniture since before I came to ITP; I will even admit that I am a cat video offender. Nonetheless, this is the perfect opportunity for me to stop talking about wanting to create a cat toy and start actually doing it.

To start off the design process I did a bit of research regarding cat toys, focusing my attention on any interactive electronic offering I could find. I started off by looking at several previous projects from ITP, then I looked at commercial toys. Here is an overview of what I found:

Previous Cat Toys from ITP

The Hanimustv by Aram Chang
The Hanimustv is a cat toy that was developed as a thesis project for last year. It is a “peek” and “hide” game that is controlled by a small remote control with arcade-style buttons. Small wooden cylinders are raised out of a box in response to button presses on the remote. The cylinders return to their original position once the button is released.

From a technology perspective, this cool toy uses an Arduino connected to buttons that controls a set of solenoids, which move the cylinders. Check out this cool user test video - the users testing the toy were of course cats, rather than humans.

Toy characteristics:
- Interactivity between cat and human
- Movement of physical objects for cat
- Physical controls for human

The Meowzer by Gordie and Emily
Another ITP cat toy that I discovered is called Meowzer; it was developed last spring semester by Gordie and Emily. Meowzer has a rotating top part that holds five arms. Four of these arms have dangling strings that hold small fluffy cat toys (one of which has a laser light). The fifth arm holds a small bunch of feathers and is the only one that can move up and down. The toy is controlled by an application that runs on a laptop computer.

From a technology perspective, this toy uses an Arduino that is connected to the following main components: DC motor that rotates the top part; Servo motor that moves the fifth arm up and down; and a laser light attached to one of the cat toys, in the mouth position. The application that controls the toy was developed in Processing.

Here is a link to the documentation about this project from Gordie’s blog. The documentation is comprehensive and features a nice video of the finished product.

Toy characteristics:
- Interactivity between cat and human
- Movement of physical objects and light for cat
- Virtual controls for human

Unnamed Toy by Patrick Proctor
The last ITP-developed cat toy that I found was developed by Patrick Proctor for our Introduction to Physical Computing class. This toy was designed to enable two cats to interact. It essentially features two separate toys that are connected. The first toy is a tennis ball on a metal spring that is secured to a wooden base; the cat plays with it by batting the ball around. The second toy is a laser pointer that moves from side to side; the cat plays with it by following the laser light reflection on walls. The movement of the laser pointer is partially governed by interactions with the tennis ball.

Here is a link to a blog post from Patrick where you can find pictures and an overview of his project.

Toy characteristics:
- Interactivity between cat and cat
- Movement of physical objects and light
- Physical controls for cat (or human)

Consumer Cat Toy Examples

Here I will focus my exploration on electronic cat toys only. That is not to say that old-school cat toys (such as plush toys, scratching pads, crinkly balls, laser pointers, shoe laces, etc) will not serve as part of my inspiration for this project. Ultimately, I want to create an electronic cat toy that rivals the interactivity provided by a stick with a piece of shoelace tied at the end, which to this day remains Sasha’s favorite toy.

Run Rascal
This is the only cat toy from the bunch that I have personally owned. It is a remote controlled mouse. My cat, Sasha, liked this toy well enough. The only problem we encountered was that the mouse is not able to run on carpets, which is where sasha likes to hang out the most. It is definitely the most interactive electronic cat toy that I have seen on the market.

Toy characteristics:
- Interactivity between cat and human
- Movement of physical object for cat
- Physical controls for human

The electronic toys listed below offer minimal or no interactivity. That is not to say that they are not much enjoyed by cats.

FroliCat Bolt
This is a relatively new cat toy that is relatively simple. It amounts to a laser light mounted in a well thought out container that moves the laser around a room. The laser moves based on the movement of a reflective mirror, rather than the movement of the light source itself. This toy offers an interesting mechanism, though it is not truly interactive (unless you hold it in your hand and use it like a traditional laser pointer).

Toy Characteristics:
- Movement of light for cat
- Limited interactivity provided

Mouse in the House
This is a cat toy that looks like a small diorama of a living room and features a track on which small toy mouse runs. The timing of the appearance of the small mouse can be programmed to enable the toy to entertain unattended cats for long periods of time. For the most part the toy seems to appeal to cats, though pet owners complain about the loud noise of the motor. Though this toy does not provide direct interactivity, it does offer the toy owner the ability to program the frequency of the mouse movement.

Toy Characteristics:
- Movement of physical object for cat
- Limited interactivity provided