반려묘를 위한 디지털 가구디자인 연구

Abstract

As the number of pet cats increases in modern cities, the way we use residential and public spaces, hygiene and safety standards, and awareness of animal rights are being reconfigured. Simultaneously, complex issues surrounding stray cats persist, including conflicts over noise, hygiene, and feeding locations, the balance between animal welfare and public health, and the lack of citizen participation in management. Existing pet products and furniture are focused on convenience and aesthetics within the home, and design research that comprehensively considers interactions, data-driven management, and stakeholder collaboration within public contexts (public spaces, communities, and urban ecological networks) is limited. Therefore, this study aims to propose a furniture design model for a stray cat feeding station that utilizes IoT technology to improve the urban ecosystem where humans, companion cats, and stray cats coexist. To achieve these goals, specific objectives include real-time monitoring of food and water levels using weight sensors. A cat tower-integrated IoT system, equipped with an Arduino board, a LoRa communication module, and a load cell sensor, will quantitatively measure cats' feeding and drinking patterns. Based on the weight sensor data, we will study behavioral and physiological changes (e.g., decreased feeding and changes in nocturnal patterns). Ultimately, we aim to establish digital technology-based pet furniture design as a communication and management medium for urban ecosystems. This will enhance interaction between humans, pet cats, and stray cats, while simultaneously mitigating conflict, hygiene, and management costs. This model combines physical feasibility-guaranteed design, multi-functional reconfiguration, low-power distributed sensing, and user-centered, equity-oriented participatory design to function as a coexistence infrastructure with empirical scalability.