SnapCat: A Virtual Pet for Animal Assisted Intervention

SnapCat

Animal therapy has been widely used in many different ways and has become a popular way to relieve and cope with stress, anxiety, depression, and other psychiatric disorders. Numerous studies have shown that AAI (Animal Assisted Intervention) has positive effects in coping with the previously mentioned issues (Pandey et al.) However, many people do not have access to animal therapy due to barriers like mental disabilities, cognitive decline, allergies, immunodeficiency disorders, or structural challenges. In response, we have developed a responsive virtual cat companion that the user can pet, feed, and play. Research has shown that virtual pet companions, acting as AAI, have similar effects to physical AAI (Willms et al.). Our team has implemented interactable features using the Snap Spectacles Lens Studio so that the user can place the cat on a surface and interact with it using their hands. While there is limited research on virtual AAI, it seems very likely to have strong positive effects, and future research could further provide access of AAI to excluded groups.

Citations: Pandey, Ramendra Pati, et al. “The Role of Animal-Assisted Therapy in Enhancing Patients’ Well-Being: Systematic Study of the Qualitative and Quantitative Evidence.” JMIRx Med, vol. 5, 2024, article e51787. PubMed Central, https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10986847/

Bona, Eileen. “Animal Assisted Interventions” Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association, Spring 2020, https://www.ccpa-accp.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Spring-2020-Article-1-GUIDELINES-2.pdf

Willms, Julien, et al. “Clinical and Neurobiological Effects of Real-Life and Virtual Animal-Assisted Interventions for Patients with Depression.” Psychiatry Research, vol. 357, 2026, article 116917. ScienceDirect, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2025.116917