Tarka

Goal:

The goal of my project was to design a animatronic companion for young adults aged between 18-34 who are struggling with loneliness. This is because 60% of this age group in the UK say that they often feel lonely, as well as the stress from chronic loneliness being twice as deadly as obesity.

What is it?

Tarka is a small animatronic otter that is located in the users home. This is so when the user arrives back home they feel more comfortable as they have something that they can share their feelings with that they know will always be there for them.

Why?

I decided to do a companion for the user when they get home, as through primary research and interviews I deduced that one of the biggest pain points for lonely people is when they get home feel like they have no-one they can talk to and no one who cares about them.

Project Video: 

Below is a product video that shows how Tarka works:

 

(Youtube link in case the vieo above doesnt work)

Final Prototype:

There were two parts to the final prototype, a working AI model as well as a physical model, below is a picture of the final model and a video of the final AI. (Please find more detail in the Physical Prototype and AI Development Sections respectively)