Project Overview
An app integrated with a smart device to notify users when lights are left on in empty rooms, supporting energy efficiency and smarter living.
Timeframe
2025 | The execution of this university project lasted 3 months.
My responsibilities
Being a small team, we were all involved in most of the project steps. My work, in particular, focused on research, UI design, and prototyping using Protopie.
What I Learned
I gained experience with Arduino and facilitating communication between physical and digital devices, ultimately creating a fully functional prototype.
Tyto: The Digital Companion That Helps You Save Energy by Detecting Lights Left On in Empty Rooms
App Architecture
The first step was to design the overall structure of the app and the product. Our main goal was to create a non-intrusive user experience. With the app architecture established, we faced our biggest problem: Arduino. We proceeded by ranking the main features and exploring exactly how the Arduino should behave for each(writing the code and selecting the necessary components).
*The course brief also required us to include a virtual pet.
Main App Goals
01. Include an interactive virtual pet.
02. Smooth connection between physical and digital product.
03. Energy and cost consumption history.
Prototype Development
Once we understood the materials we needed, we created an initial digital Arduino prototype to identify potential issues. At that point, we began working at the same time, on the code, the 3D model, and the first version of the app. After consulting on possible improvements, we finalized the Arduino setup with the printed model. We then used Protopie to build an app prototype capable of truly communicating with our physical Tyto device.
Thank you for taking the time to explore this project!
