VetShield

Inspiration:Mute livestock like cattle, goats, and dogs suffer severely from highly contagious diseases like bacterial diarrhea (E. coli) or mastitis. Because these deadly pathogens are invisible on surface touchpoints, infections spread rapidly across entire sheds and clinics before visible symptoms appear. As a microbiology student, I wanted to make the invisible visible to protect animal lives and safeguard farmers' livelihoods.

What it does:VetShield is an AR-powered biosecurity platform that converts veterinary point-of-care rapid testing and lab data into intuitive, 3D color-coded digital heatmaps using mobile technology. By scanning animal sheds, clinic floors, or medical tables with a smartphone, users can instantly see active pathogen contamination zones: Green (Safe), Yellow (Medium Risk), and Red (High Danger).

How we built it:We conceptualized and designed the platform by focusing on practical field diagnostics and immersive technology:

•Diagnostics: Integrated data from On-Farm Rapid Lateral Flow Test Kits (fecal/milk strip tests). •UI/UX Mockups: Designed seamless animal-tag tracking interfaces and mobile wireframes using Figma. •AR Framework: Structured using Unity AR Foundation and WebXR frameworks to anchor 3D digital color layers over physical stalls and tables.

Challenges we ran into:

•User Accessibility: Farmers or field workers might find complex menus difficult to use during busy operational hours. We addressed this by designing an ultra-simplified 'point-and-shoot' camera interface. •Connectivity Issues: Unstable internet connections in remote rural farm areas could delay real-time database updates. We solved this by implementing offline-first data caching to log test results locally and sync later.

Accomplishments that we're proud of:

•Bridging the gap between advanced technology and animal welfare by designing a solution tailored specifically for veterinary biosecurity and livestock protection. •Successfully creating a conceptual framework that makes invisible, deadly pathogens visible through an intuitive AR mapping system, directly safeguarding animal lives and farmers' livelihoods. •Developing a highly practical, offline-first strategy that ensures complex data-driven AR tech can actually be used by rural workers in areas with unstable internet.

What we learned: We gained valuable insights into combining biotechnology diagnostics with spatial computing to tackle real-world veterinary problems. We also learned how to structure offline-first architectures to ensure technology remains viable and impactful in low-resource rural environments.

What's next for VetShield:

•Transitioning our Figma mockups into a fully functional mobile application integrated with Unity AR Foundation and WebXR frameworks. •Partnering with local diagnostic kit manufacturers to test and deploy automated color-band scanning directly through smartphone cameras. •Scaling the platform to support animal-tag tracking architectures for global bio-safety compliance and tracking larger herds.

Built With

• ar-foundation
• augmented-reality
• figma
• mobile-app
• unity
• veterinary
• webxr