Malcolm's New Family

Meet Malcolm, the unfortunate kitten. He has a scar on his belly due to a tragic incident that involved a red scooter and ice cream. It began on the day of the circus. Tommy was ecstatic to go to the circus, his mother less so, being a nervous wreck around crowds. Tommy just got a new grey cat named Malcolm who he spent every hour and minute of the day with, and he insisted on bringing his new kitten to the circus with him. If he didn’t, Tommy thought that Malcolm would get lonely at home. Tommy’s mother, being overly accommodating, agreed, much to her demise later. When Tommy and his mother arrived at the circus, Tommy headed straight for the dart balloon game with Malcolm in his chubby hands. This is where it got bad for Malcolm. Tommy put Malcolm down by the counter. Tommy was aiming for the giant teddy bear; his entire concentration was focused on the game. Tommy’s mother, being already a nervous wreck, was scared that Tommy might hurt himself with the darts. They both paid no attention to Malcolm. Malcolm, being the curious little cat he is, wandered off the counter and into the mass of people. Malcolm had already wandered much too far before Tommy or Tommy’s mother noticed. Malcolm’s solo adventure was tragically cut short. Much to Malcolm’s demise, a child riding a small red scooter, holding an ice cream cone, zoomed by, much too preoccupied with his ice cream to notice tiny Malcolm. The child ran straight into Malcolm. The collision was much like a slow motion film. Malcolm was knocked to the side, the child tripped slightly, and the ice cream cone slipped out of his hands, landing top first onto the concrete. The child burst out crying. The crowd rushed towards the child, ignoring poor Malcolm. Luckily, a little girl with a kitten in her arms noticed Malcolm. She tugged her mother towards Malcolm, and Malcolm was brought to animal ER, and sewn up just fine. He now has a new home, with a new cat and family.

Malcolm is a plush cat, outfitted with an arduino that takes readings from a force sensitive resistor and several hall sensors. He's been adopted by a loving family that already has a cat, who just so happens to have a collar decorated with magnets. He's so happy to have a loving family that whenever he gets cuddled by his new owner or feline friend (aka, when he's squeezed or when the cat comes up next to him) that he just can't stop purring!

The target audience is any cat owner, and does solve an existing need. It doesn't enhance an existing interaction, necessarily, but it can help an owner of a new skittish cat help their new pet relax and grow accustomed to their new home, so it can enhance an interaction between a human and their cat.

We bought a plush cat (10 dollars), a hall effect sensor (about 2 dollars), a set of magnets (about 10 dollars), and a collar as well (10 dollars).

Our team members are myself (Sarah Lerner) and Natalynn Chun. 

Natalynn is an econ major and compsci minor, and is very creative.

Sarah is a compsci major and linguistics minor, and is fairly resourceful.

Here are some work in progress photos:

- The arduino with one hall sensor and a speaker

- Malcolm and the collar, along with the arduino, which now has two hall sensors and a force sensitive resistor.