Inspiration
Our inspiration for our hackathon project was to create an innovative solution that promotes a healthy lifestyle while also adding a social and fun aspect to it. We began by brainstorming daily tasks and thinking of ways to turn them into games.
Our first idea was a morning routine builder, where the user sets alarms on devices placed at key locations in their morning routine, turning the task of completing their routine into a game where the user is rewarded for completing tasks in a timely manner. Our second idea was heavily inspired by geocaching and other popular games, and would involve a game-like system that allows players to leave messages at different locations in the real world for others to track and discover. Players who leave and discover the most messages would earn more points and have higher scores on daily leaderboards. This idea not only encourages going out and finding new messages, but also promotes healthy habits by encouraging people to go on walks.
Our third idea was a water bottle drinking tracker that encourages users to drink more water by tracking their intake and growing a virtual plant as they drink more. Our final idea was a habit tracker that combines elements of the previous ideas. It gives users daily quests to complete, positively encouraging them upon completion and providing an animated display to congratulate them. Additionally, keeping up with daily tasks would feed a virtual pet that would grow happier and bigger.
All of these ideas aim to make healthy habits more engaging and fun, by turning them into games and adding a social aspect to the process. We believe that by incorporating these elements, we can make a meaningful impact on people's lives and help them to maintain a healthy lifestyle.
What it does
The Habbit Rabbit is a device that aims to promote sustainable and healthy habits through technology. Using a web application, or the mobile application, users are able to edit their schedules; a tamagotchi-style interface holds them to these schedules, using positive reinforcement through expressive noises and faces to ensure they complete their tasks on time. Wireless buttons that signal completion of tasks, like doing laundry or brushing teeth, relay information back to a server if a task is completed, allowing the device to provide real-time feedback.
The importance of this device lies in its ability to help individuals build healthy habits, which can have a significant impact on overall well-being. Having a healthy lifestyle, including regular exercise, a balanced diet, and regular hygiene practices, can lead to better physical and mental health outcomes. Additionally, by encouraging sustainable habits, such as turning off lights or taking shorter showers, the Habbit Rabbit can also help reduce the environmental impact of daily activities.
The use of positive reinforcement and real-time feedback, through IoT technology, make the Habbit Rabbit an innovative and effective tool for promoting healthy and sustainable habits. This can be especially beneficial for people who find it difficult to establish and maintain healthy habits, as the device provides an interactive and engaging way to encourage the formation of positive habits.
How we built it
Our hackathon project utilizes an es32 microcontroller connected to a Google Cloud (Firebase) server to create an interactive tamagotchi-like interface for a habit-tracking rabbit. The rabbit's mood is determined by the front-end, which compares the user's schedule with boolean values for completed tasks. These boolean values are supplied by separate button-interfaces, which communicate with the server to indicate when a task has been completed.
The main display for the habit-rabbit is housed in a fully independently cadded 3D model. The 3D printed result is a rabbit-themed housing with a built-in hinge door and locking mechanism. The housing for the button-interface is handcrafted using fully recycled scrap wood, which was carved with precision using tools such as band-saws, power-drills, and a dremel. The button-interface housing was designed to be eco-friendly, which aligns with our goal of promoting sustainable habits.
Challenges we ran into
The time constraint of the hackathon really limited the number of features and sensors that we were able to include in the prototype. We had to prioritize and make difficult decisions about what to include and what to leave out.
Another challenge we faced was related to the speaker, specifically setting up and troubleshooting different types of speakers. Fortunately, we were able to use a buzzer type speaker as the other ones weren’t working with the configurations of amplifiers and other parts we had. We also had challenges with housing the different components of the Habbit Rabbit. To remedy this, for our button housing, we used parts and scraps from laser cutter waste to get a suitable housing while recycling while devoting a lot of our time to a singular model for the tomogatchi device.
Accomplishments that we're proud of
We are incredibly proud of the hard work and dedication our team put into this project. Despite the challenges we faced, everyone pulled through and contributed their unique talents. The result is a finished product that not only functions well, but also showcases the excellence of both our hardware and software capabilities. On the software side, we were thrilled to achieve a working display with full speaker and button functionality. On the hardware side, we were pleased with how all the parts worked seamlessly and were properly connected. Additionally, we take pride in the design and craftsmanship of our housing units. The main unit was designed from scratch in SolidWorks and 3D printed, featuring a functional hinge and lock system. The secondary housing was created using recycled scrap wood, demonstrating our commitment to environmental friendliness and ingenuity in woodworking.
What we learned
We all stepped outside our comfort zones and learned new technologies, such as learning React for front end, learning how to program audio onto a microcontroller, using cloud services like Firebase, etc. For the software team, it was our first time collaborating to create a full stack app. Some of us learned soldering and 3D printing, and even though we were under a time crunch, we learned a lot about working as a team, which we believe was the most important takeaway from this competition.
What's next for Habbit Rabbit
We are looking to improve all aspects of our design, as the limited time meant we had to take shortcuts. We would like to add a user authentication system to deploy to users, as well as create a more robust backend to complement this. The encasing could also be improved with a smoother hinge mechanism as well as a slimmer design.
Log in or sign up for Devpost to join the conversation.