Robot vacuum cleaners are so advanced these days that some of them barely need human intervention. Of course, that wasn’t always the case in the earliest days of this market segment, with the first generations relying on some very basic technologies and software by today’s standards. Although its name has become synonymous with robot vacs, the Roomba has almost all but faded into that background.

Some, however, have found some rather creative uses for older models, with a bit of hacking and ingenuity. Giving a very old rolling robot a better brain and literally space-grade software, this mod turns a cleaning machine into a mess-making one, albeit not by intention. Instead of picking up dirt or even clothes, the “Space Vacuum” will instead drop pieces of food for your canine companion to munch on when it’s near.

Designer: Joaquim Silveira

Most of us probably have a file of unused and abandoned electronics that are still a bit functional except for one broken or missing part. We don’t have much practical use for them, so they just end up gathering dust and taking up space, sometimes forgotten until the next Spring cleaning. A few people, however, have the fortunate skill to bring these machines back to life, though sometimes with a different function so different from the original.

This Roomba, for example, once cleaned up dirty floors in a previous lifetime. But with some clever use of off-the-shelf hardware like an Arduino and some skilled DIY electronics, it has been given a new lease on life as a dog food dispenser. Ironically, it now does the opposite of cleaning the floor and instead makes a mess, presuming the canine doesn’t gobble up the treats first.

What the Space Vacuum basically does is detect the presence of a dog, while differentiating it from other living critters in the house, and drops dog food from a paper cup that has its bottom partially cut out. Curiously enough, the software used for this project is NASA Jet Propulsion Labs’s (JPL) Fprime flight software used for space missions and controlling drones, which sounds a bit overkill for a food-dispensing robot. That, however, gives it the right to call itself a “Space Vacuum,” though the vacuum part is in question.

It’s definitely not going to win any awards for aesthetics or practicality, but the project does spark curiosity and maybe inspire a few more experiments using these house robots. The rather odd clothes-picking Roborock vacuum at CES 2025 demonstrated what these machines are actually capable of, especially with their advanced sensors and AI-powered brains. All they need is a robot arm or a proper food dispenser, and they have the makings of a general-purpose robot that won’t take up too much floor space.

The post Modified Roomba becomes a smart robot for dispensing doggie treats first appeared on Yanko Design.

We’re living in a world where pets are more than companions, they’re cherished family members. In this age, the spaces we share with them deserve thoughtful care. G:RE, a brand devoted to enhancing the bond between people and their furry friends, has introduced a groundbreaking product that combines form, function, and a touch of nature’s beauty. Obile – a handy vacuum cleaner that isn’t just a tool but a lifestyle upgrade for pet-loving households.

Designer: Focus studio, KSID, and Taeyeon Kim

G:RE was born from a simple but powerful question: how can we create a life for pets and their humans that feels as natural as it is nurturing? As pets claim an even deeper place in our hearts and homes, G:RE envisions a world where products blend seamlessly with our lives while keeping our spaces comfortable, clean, and inspired by nature. With Obile, G:RE delivers on this promise by addressing one of the most practical challenges of pet ownership: maintaining a clean home without sacrificing style or convenience.

Cleaning isn’t exactly fun, but what if your cleaning tool could feel like a piece of art infused with the warmth of the sun? That’s the magic of Obile. Designed with an elegant tilt reminiscent of sunlight streaming through a window, Obile isn’t just functional, it’s poetry in motion. The vacuum’s oblique design symbolizes the sun’s comforting rays, bringing warmth to its surroundings. Its natural hues, carefully chosen to mimic the golden tones of sunlight, make it an interior piece as much as a cleaning device. Whether it’s propped in its cradle or busy cleaning fur-lined corners, Obile feels like an extension of your home rather than an intrusive gadget.

Pets bring love, joy, and of course fur. Obile is here to handle the mess without breaking a sweat, ensuring your space stays fresh for both you and your furry friends. Equipped with two nozzles – a basic nozzle and a fur brush nozzle. Obile tackles pet hair and dirt with ease. From carpets to cozy corners, it’s a cleaning powerhouse. The nozzles tuck neatly into a hidden drawer in the cradle, keeping everything tidy and within reach. Thanks to a wireless charging cradle powered by a USB-C connection, Obile is always ready for action. Its sleek design ensures it blends effortlessly into your decor, even when not in use.

Through countless prototypes and full-size mock-ups, G:RE fine-tuned every detail, from the ergonomics of the handle to the seamless usability of its design. The result? A vacuum that feels like it was made just for you. Obile represents the harmony between functionality and design, a product that feels like a warm embrace for you and your pets.

By bridging the gap between nature-inspired aesthetics and modern convenience, G:RE has created something truly special. So, why settle for the ordinary when you can embrace the extraordinary? With Obile, cleanliness becomes effortless, and your home transforms into a sanctuary where pets and people live in perfect harmony. Because at the end of the day, life is better when it’s shared—and clean.

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Anyone who has owned a cat will know the truth about who is really the master and who is the pet. Although they can definitely be cuddly and sentimental, furry felines are also known to be temperamental and territorial. And by that, it usually means that any place in the house can be their territory. All kidding aside, cats tend to love squeezing into tight spaces, even when you’ve already provided a lush, comfy, and unfortunately very open bed. Embracing the behavior of cats and how they can be central to owners’ lives, these concept designs envision furniture for humans that cats will appreciate, or rather, cat furniture that just happens to be usable by humans.

Designer: Jing-Cyuan Tang

For reasons unfathomable to all except their regal kind, cats love to squeeze into cramped spaces. Of course, they’ll still enjoy plush beds, but give them a box or a tube and their natural instincts kick in. So why not just design sleeping furniture that appeals to this behavior directly instead? Bonus points if it can also be used by their human owners, potentially letting them bond even better when resting in the same place.

That may be the thinking behind this rather unusual set of cat-friendly furniture design concepts. Or perhaps they’re human-friendly cat furniture designs. Either way, these chairs will be enjoyable to both parties, though their maintenance will probably be less so for humans. The common theme these chairs have are the armrests that act like dark tunnels, enticing cats to go inside to nap. There’s ample space for a cat or even two, so it’s not exactly a cramped and uncomfortable space at all.

Two variants of these armchair designs exist. Perhaps the more interesting one of the two has an armrest that goes around the back of the chair, creating a single tunnel that cats can walk through from end to end. There is also a more modest version where the armrests swap out tunnels for shelves, allowing owners to put other things on the side that won’t be used by the cat, presuming the cat doesn’t claim that space and pushes the vase off the shelf.

There is even a stool design where the very low backrest curves inward, creating that same tunnel shape where the cat can lie inside behind you. Truth be told, the seats don’t look too comfortable, especially with the backrests so low. They might have been unintentionally designed with feline comfort as the priority, showing who the real master of the house is. That said, they are indeed interesting designs and, to some extent, quite feasible, though the question of how to clean up after the cat inside those armrests still remains.

The post Quirky chair concepts are made for both humans and their feline masters first appeared on Yanko Design.

Dogs are more than just pets, they’re beloved members of the family. As such, their health and happiness are just as important as that of any human family member. In today’s tech-savvy world, keeping an eye on your furry friend’s well-being has become easier and more efficient, thanks to innovative products like the Cotons AI LifeTrack Collar for Dogs.

Designer: YeongKyu Yoo

Imagine being able to monitor your dog’s health metrics in real time, right from your smartphone. The Cotons AI LifeTrack Collar is designed to do just that. Think of it as a smartwatch for your dog but with features specifically tailored to their unique needs. This smart collar tracks vital signs such as heart rate, respiration, temperature, and activity levels, providing a comprehensive understanding of your dog’s health at any given moment.

One of the standout features of this collar is its ability to monitor a wide range of vital signs. By tracking your dog’s heart rate, respiration, and temperature, the collar can alert you to any potential health issues before they become serious. Whether it’s an elevated heart rate indicating stress or unusual temperature readings suggesting illness, you’ll have the information you need to take proactive steps to ensure your dog’s well-being.

In addition to monitoring health metrics, the Cotons AI LifeTrack Collar comes equipped with a GPS tracker. This feature ensures you always know your dog’s location, providing peace of mind whether you’re at home or out on an adventure. If your dog ever wanders off, the GPS tracker makes it easy to locate them quickly and safely.

Maintaining a healthy and active lifestyle is just as important for dogs as it is for humans. This collar records your dog’s activity levels throughout the day, helping you manage their daily exercise routines and overall fitness. This data is invaluable for ensuring that your dog stays in shape, preventing obesity and related health problems that can arise from a sedentary lifestyle.

While the technology behind the Cotons AI LifeTrack Collar is impressive, the design is equally thoughtful. The tracker is attached to the collar using a screw-like attachment that secures it firmly from both sides, ensuring it won’t fall off or break easily. This design feature is crucial in maintaining the collar’s functionality and durability.

Moreover, the screw has a flat, foldable handle, which is a small but significant detail. This ensures that the attachment is not only secure but also comfortable for your dog, eliminating any discomfort or irritation. After all, a product designed for your dog’s well-being should never compromise on comfort.

The Cotons AI LifeTrack Collar is a smart investment in your dog’s health and happiness. By providing you with real-time data on your dog’s vital signs and activity levels, it empowers you to make informed decisions about their care. Whether you’re concerned about their health, need to track their location, or simply want to ensure they’re getting enough exercise, this smart collar is the perfect tool to help you keep your furry friend safe, healthy, and happy.

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Fourth of July can be a really fun time for the entire country, but a very stressful time for pet parents who have to deal with the extreme anxiety that dogs feel around those loud bangs and other noises. Dogs are highly sensitive to sound, so any loud noises, be it the pop of a firework or even the bang of a thunderstorm, can cause them high amounts of stress. Kirsten Brand nearly lost her dog Emma when a firework show on the 4th of July caused the pet to get so scared that she ran away from home. “After what seemed like hours, we found my furbaby, Emma, down the street. Thankfully, she had been taken into a garage by a neighbor, to ride out the rest of the firework show,” Kirsten mentioned.

That prompted her to design the Pawnix, a pet ‘helmet’ that covers their ears to dampen loud noises, while also playing calming and soothing sounds via Bluetooth. Sort of like ANC Headphones but for dogs, the Pawnix keeps your pets calm with relaxing audio, while also wrapping around their head to make them feel a sense of physical security and comfort.

Designer: Pawnix

Improved over various iterations, the Pawnix now comes with a foam-padded neoprene design, similar to the laptop sleeves you usually see people carry their MacBooks in. The helmet, shaped to look almost like a bonnet for your pet, wraps around the dog’s head, with pockets for the ears to fit in. The design works equally well for dogs with all kinds of ears, whether they’re erect, semi-erect, or hanging down. 4-way stretch Anti-microbial fabric with durable stitching means the Pawnix can go without being washed, and can definitely endure your dog trying to scratch at it or take it off.

On the inside, a set of audio drivers with active noise canceling and Bluetooth 5.0 let your dog listen to calming soundscapes instead of loud noises. Pop the headphones on, and you can connect your phone to the Pawnix via Bluetooth, choosing from a variety of calming sounds (you can actually find dog-calming tracks on YouTube). Alternatively, just the Pawnix itself should be able to drown out less intense noises like a dinner party with loud music. The Pawnix comes in 4 colors, and 4 sizes too, although there’s also an option to custom-make a Pawnix for even larger dogs.

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Furry friends are full of fun, at least until it’s time to actually keep them healthy and well-maintained. Both dogs and cats have a never-ending fur problem, but felines are more notorious for not being as enthusiastic about being brushed and combed, unlike their canine counterparts. That said, cats are also sticklers for cleanliness, but all their licking unfortunately results in unsightly hairballs in the end. This rather ingenious contraption offers a solution that makes that brushing feel almost natural to the cat, and it does so by taking advantage of the most cat-like behavior of all: squeezing into very tight spaces.

Designer: Paw-Swing

At first glance, the Paw-Swing Purrring (yes, that’s how it’s spelled) Cat Self-Grooming House looks nothing more than a felt-covered box with a rather small circular opening in front. This combination is, of course, irresistible to cats who’ll want to explore and try to fit into that tight space, which is exactly why it’s designed this way. And as soon as it passes through that hole, its loose fur gets brushed away in a manner that makes the cat feel like it’s being licked by its mother instead.

The secret is the six cylindrical brushes around the circular entrance of the house, each with a surface designed to mimic the papillae on a cat’s tongue. To the cat, this feels like a more natural grooming method, which is normally employed by mother cats licking their young. Of course, the fur isn’t ingested and is simply stored in a separate compartment for easy cleaning later. This process happens each and every time the cat passes through the entrance, making manual grooming a thing of the past.

While the self-grooming cat house requires no electricity or motors to implement the grooming part, it does have a tech component to its design. There is an automated treat dispenser installed at the top to entice your cats to come closer to the box, and when it does go in, it records how many times the cat comes in and leaves. This data is made available to owners to help them monitor the habits and health of their feline family.

Beyond the grooming and the feeding, the Purrring cat house is also, well, a house for cats. Its felt material makes the box comfortable and safe for cats, not to mention environment-friendly and recyclable as well. The Self-Grooming Cat House thus offers a safe haven for cats that also take a load off their humans’ minds, at least until it’s time to take out the collected fur.

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