288 Seymour River Place North Vancouver, BC V7H 1W6

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1 288 Seymour River Place North Vancouver, BC V7H 1W6 January 25, 2005 Mr. Lucky One School of Engineering Science Simon Fraser University 8888 University Dr. Burnaby, BC V5A 1S6 Re: ENSC 440 Project Proposal for a Gyro Cat Toy Dear Mr. One, On behalf of Animotion Toys Ltd., please find attached a document entitled Proposal for a Gyro Cat Toy. This report outlines our project and provides information regarding its operation as well as its application. Our objective is to create a toy ball for cats to play with that will simulate a live mouse by rolling back and forth and responding to the cat s input. Animotion Toys Ltd. consists of three ambitious and hard-working fourth year engineering students: Robert Grant, Ahmad Danesh and Di Xu. It is our intention to have the product completed and tested by March 21 st, and have it available for demonstration in April. Within the document, you will find a system overview, expected budget, a short description of the parties involved as well as the organizational structure of the company. The proposal also includes possible sources of funding and a timeline to which the aforementioned parties will adhere to. Feel free to contact me directly by phone at or by at animotiontoys@gmail.com if you have any concerns. Sincerely, Robert Grant President and CEO Animotion Toys, Ltd. Enclosure: Proposal for a Gyro Cat Toy

2 Project Team: Team Contact Robert Grant Ahmad Danesh Di Xu Submitted to: Mr. L One ENSC 440 Mr. M Sjoerdsma ENSC 305 School of Engineering Science Simon Fraser University Date Issued: January 25 th 2005

3 Executive Summary Over the past years humans have had less and less free time to spend with their pets, and according to Michigan State University, over 34% of families have pets in the United States. As the family s free time is filled with work, school, soccer practice, and other time consuming activities, the pets are left at home by themselves. The Ontario Veterinary Medial Association warns that pet owners should play with [their] cat daily to ensure it is getting enough exercise and suggests that cat toys [are] an excellent way for cats to stay in shape. Unfortunately, with their busy lives, many pet owners are unable to play with their cat on a daily basis. This document proposes the design of an automated cat toy developed by Animotion Toys Ltd. The toy will be a small ball which will have the capability to roll when the cat is nearby. When the cat is within ten feet of the ball, it will begin to roll and will turn itself off when the cat loses interest. By rolling back and forth, acting like a small mouse, the ball will captivate the cat without the need of human presence. Animotion Toys Ltd. consists of three fourth year engineering science students from Simon Fraser University. Two of the company founders are studying the systems option, providing detailed knowledge of control systems and software programming. The other founder is studying the electronics option, providing knowledge of microcontroller implementation as well as data communication. This toy will require extensive research and development over an eleven week period. Our project timeline specifies functional modules by the end of February and a tested operational prototype by the end of March. i

4 Table of Contents Executive Summary... i List of Figures...iii List of Tables...iii 1. Introduction System and Design Overview Existing Products Budgeting and Funding Time Schedule Team Organisation Company Profile Conclusion Sources and References ii

5 List of Figures Figure 2.1. Gyro Toy Components... 2 Figure 2.2. System On/Off Control... 3 Figure 2.3. Direction Controller... 3 Figure 2.4. Force Sensor Application... 4 Figure 5.1. Gantt Chart... 7 Figure 5.2. Milestone Chart... 8 List of Tables Table 4.1. Budget Outline... 6 iii

6 1. Introduction According to Mike Richards, a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, free-choice feeding and the use of litter pans seems to be driving the trend towards cat ownership. As well, he suggests that cats are a better choice for homes with a single working adult or where both adults work. The fact that a cat can be left alone during the day or over the weekend has also driven this trend. However, the Ontario Veterinary Medical Association (OVMA) suggests you should play with your cat daily to ensure that it is getting enough exercise and that chasing cat toys is an excellent way to keep them in shape. Unfortunately, the career-based lifestyle of most North American families does not allow for sufficient time to care to these needs. Our objective is to create a toy ball for cats that will not require any human input. The ball will simulate a live mouse by rolling around when the cat is nearby. By doing so, we will provide a fun solution that will allow cat owners to ensure that their cat maintains a healthy level of daily exercise while the owners are not at home. The market for this product is outstanding. According to Michigan State University, 34% of American families own at least one cat, which equates to a total of 77.7 million cats. In Canada, almost half of all households have at least one pet and according to Statistics Canada, this equates to approximately 3.5 million cats. However, it is not sufficient to assume that this encapsulates the entire market. By refining the scope of the market, we will be better able to meet the demands of the customers. According to the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA), as of 2004, 53% of households were spending more on their pets than they did three years prior. Within the same study, they found that 94% of pet owners take their pets for regular veterinary checkups to ensure their pet s quality of life. The OVMA remarkably states that 80% of families buy presents for their pets on holidays and their birthdays. These statistics indicate that the majority of pet owners consider their pet as a part of the family and, in doing so, they are willing to spend money to ensure their pet s health and wellbeing. Beyond the health benefits of our product, it also saves time for the customers. These factors have a major benefit when it comes to marketing our product. If we can effectively portray that our ball will enhance their pet s health as well as provide amusement without human input, they will be likely to purchase Animotion s original product. This report provides our project proposal and outlines our system overview, budget, as well as a the organizational structure of the company and a brief description of those involved. The document also suggests possible sources of funding and provides timeline information via Gantt and milestone charts. It is our intention to have the product completed and tested by March 21 st and have it available for demonstration in April. 1

7 2. System and Design Overview The toy ball will have a durable plastic shell and will move by the inertial effects of a rotating mass. By alternating the direction of the rotating mass, the ball will be able to roll both forwards and backwards. When a cat approaches the ball, a radio frequency (RF) signal from the cat s collar will be detected by the ball, causing the ball to turn on and allowing the cat to play with it. When the ball turns on it will begin to roll in various patterns back and forth. The ball s design is depicted in Figure 2.1. Figure 2.1. Gyro Toy Components The ball will not be restricted to one line of motion. By stopping the mass abruptly, the ball will spin slightly off its primary axis of rotation and will now face in a different direction. This change in direction makes it possible for the ball to create different patterns of movement. The ball will also employ force-detection so that it will change directions once it is hit by the cat or if it hits the wall. This will ensure that the ball does not get trapped in the corner of a room. When the ball changes direction due to the actions of the cat, the toy may engage the cat more by making it think it has an impact on the ball. The main control of this toy will be through a low-power microcontroller. This controller will take the filtered RF signal and the signal from the force sensors as inputs. Depending on these inputs and the state of the system, the microcontroller will toggle a 2

8 DC motor between three states; off, counter-clockwise, and clockwise. Connected to the shaft of the motor is the offset mass, which will cause the toy to roll. In order to preserve power, the ball will be turned off when the cat is not nearby. Therefore, we need to sample the RF sensor output to know when to turn the ball on. As Figure 2.2 depicts, the RF signal will be filtered to guarantee that the cat is within the region and it doesn t turn on due to noise. This filtration can be performed using a Schmitt trigger with an appropriate hysteresis curve. The filter will output a rising edge which will trigger the microcontroller to switch from standby mode into active mode. The microcontroller can then control the motor appropriately. Likewise, when a falling edge occurs, the microcontroller will be switched into standby mode to preserve power. Figure 2.2. System On/Off Control The next step is to control the ball s direction. When the power turns on, the ball will turn the mass clockwise. When the force sensor is triggered, the ball will change directions. Thus, we require a feedback of the present direction when the force sensor is triggered. This process is shown in the block diagram of Figure 2.3. Alternatively, the present direction of the motor can be stored in the memory of the microcontroller and the rising edge from the force sensor will cause the microcontroller to switch the motor s direction. Figure 2.3. Direction Controller 3

9 The force sensor that will be used can be built from a small spring and rod, as depicted in Figure 2.4. By implementing the force sensor in this manner, we are able to make it small and inexpensive. For this application, it is beneficial to use a simple contact switch rather than a costly accelerometer. Whenever a force is applied to the switch, contact will be made between the rod and the spring and a pulse will be sent to the microcontroller. The pulse will then be detected and the direction of the ball s movement will change. Figure 2.4. Force Sensor Application When selecting the parts to be used in creating this cat toy, we must be concerned with two major points; low power consumption and size. Since we want the toy to last as long as possible over a battery s life we must be sure to use parts that use minimal power. Also, since we want to fit these parts inside of a ball small enough for a cat to play with, each part must be as small as possible. Currently we desire a ball that is six to eight centimetres in radius and will last up to two weeks of regular play without having to replace the batteries. 4

10 3. Existing Products Conventional cat toys currently available on the market are small animal or ball shaped objects coated with fur or feathers. These products are not interactive with the cat and tend to have a short life span. A few products try to solve the problem of not having feedback or interaction from the toy by attaching either a string or elastic to the toy. However, in order for the toy to move, a person must be present to tug on the string or elastic, making this solution troublesome and time consuming. Some cat toys are stand alone devices that do not require human interaction, but they often fail to attract the interest of the cat. These toys require the cat s initial involvement in order to create the interaction with the cat. Rather than catching the cat s attention by ways of movement, they solely rely on physical appearance. Without any human input, Animotion s stand alone toy will attract the attention of the cat with quick movements and it will continue to involve the cat by responding to its actions. This will allow the pet owner to distract the hyperactive cat while he/she is busy with other tasks that prevent the owner from spending time with their pet. 5

11 4. Budgeting and Funding The budgeting for this project is tabulated in table 4.1. After researching the parts, we found that purchasing a single part is far more expensive than bulk purchases of over 10,000 parts (as signified in the production cost). Also, there will be one-time expenses to purchase the hardware needed to program the microcontroller and RFID transmitter. Added to each price in the prototype cost is an overestimate of at least 10% to ensure there is no cost overrun. Not included in the production cost is the cost of labour to construct each product. Table 4.1. Budget Outline Item Prototype Cost Production Cost Microcontroller 15 2 Batteries 5 1 Motor 5 2 RFID tag and transmitter 15 2 Enclosure 10 2 Microcontroller programming kit RFID tag kit Total $850 $9 Since our company plans to market this toy after completion, we are looking towards funding options during our prototyping stage that do not expect any royalties in the future. Among these funding options is the Engineer Science Student Endowment Fund (ESSEF). Along with any possible assistance by this fund, we are currently looking to take use of their equipment loan program, which may be able to provide the microcontroller programming kit. The remaining costs in the budget, which we expect to be roughly $500, will be covered equally by the three members of the company. 6

12 5. Time Schedule The following two charts represent our time schedule for this project. The Gantt chart shows the time allocation of various tasks for the project while the Milestone chart displays the deadlines for the reports. The research phase was started in December of 2004 and will be completed by the end of January Within the same week we will start ordering the required components for building our project. We have allocated five weeks from our schedule for prototype development. During the initial two weeks, our development group will design the gyroscope and RF portion of the project. In the two weeks after our group will implement the battery, motor and microcontroller. Finally, the modules will be put together in the fifth week of prototype development. Dec-04 Jan-05 Feb-05 Mar-05 Apr-05 Resaerch Project Proposal Written Progress Report Functional Specifications Design Specifications Parts Ordering Module Building & Testing Gyro Design RF Design Microcontroller Implementation Battery & Motor Design Ball Exterior & Interior Design Oral Report Documentation Website Group Presentation & Demo Post Mortem Figure 5.1. Gantt Chart 7

13 2005 January February March April Complete Project Proposal Functional Specifications Oral Progress Report Written Progress Report Design Specifications Group Presentation and Demo Figure 5.2. Milestone Chart 8

14 6. Team Organisation Animotion Toys Ltd. was founded by three fourth year Engineering students from Simon Fraser University: Robert Grant, Ahmad Danesh and Di Xu. We create an ambitious team of young students looking to overcome any challenges. Individual descriptions of the team members can be found in the following section, entitled Company Profile. Working in such a small group in which we must work so closely together, we believe it is inefficient to have one designated leader. With our intentions of taking our product out to market, we are all focussed to create this product efficiently, on time and inexpensively. It is with mutual respect that we will be able to lead and motivate each other to ensure that our common goal is attained. We also believe that even though we are leading each other, there must be designated duties for each team member to ensure efficient and focussed work. Robert Grant, President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), is in charge of professional relations of the company and will ensure that our group stays focussed if we ever forget our common goal. Ahmad Danesh, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Chief Marketing Officer (CMO), will be in charge of budget and revenue creation. Di Xu, Chief Technical Officer (CTO) and Chief Operations Officer (COO), will be in charge of operations and will ensure that the group follows the timeline as discussed in section 5. All three members will play an equal role in research and development. By working together closely, we intend to motivate each other while at the same time ensure that we are having fun. We believe it is important to ensure that we treat one another with respect and we understand that we will encounter times at which our limits will be tested. For this reason, we have made it clear to each other that when a problem arises we should bring it up as soon as possible so that the situation does not escalate. We are fortunate that our intentions to take this product to the market have created a common goal to which we can all relate to. Not only will this common goal help us to motivate each other, but it will also allow us to keep each other in check by ensuring that we are all aware of the bigger challenges ahead. During the past four years, we have realized that longer meetings tend to lead to unprepared team members as well as inefficient meetings. For this reason, we have decided that rather than meeting once a week for many hours, our group will meet for short brainstorming sessions at least three times a week. During these brainstorming sessions, we will update each other on our allocated duties and ask for any help or suggestions to any encountered problems. At the end of the meeting, we will quickly remind each other of what tasks must be completed by the next meeting time. If needed, we will meet more than the required three meetings to ensure that the project is completed on time. 9

15 7. Company Profile Robert Grant President, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) I am a fourth year Systems Engineering student at Simon Fraser University with two previous co-op terms with British Columbia Transmission Corporation. During these work terms I developed high level analysis programs using Java programming. Along with my software skill set, I have great analytical skills with designing and implementing mechanical and embedded systems. Accompanying my technical skill set is my ability to communicate and perform business in a professional manner. After graduation I plan to enhance my business background by pursing a management of technology MBA. Di Xu Chief Technical Officer (CTO), Chief Operations Officer (COO) I am a fourth year Electronics Engineering Student studying at Simon Fraser University. From my past courses and co-op experiences I have gained valuable skills in a variety of fields. Through my courses and co-op, I became familiar in wireless communications with a strong understanding of RF and base band design. In addition, I am proficient with C/C++ and Java programming and have developed control software for real time embedded systems under the QNX Neutrino OS. My strong communications and teamwork skills are also important attributes I bring to the team. Ahmad Danesh Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) I am a fourth year Engineering student in the Systems option at Simon Fraser University and am graduating in December of As a student who always tries to look at the big picture, I am looking forward to working towards an MBA upon graduation. During my co-op terms, I was able to get extensive experience in manufacturing. By working closely with the testing department as well as many managers, I was able to refine my skills in documentation as well as in functional and reliability testing. My experience in manufacturing has taught me a lot about the design stage, specifically how to design for ease of manufacturing. Most importantly, these experiences have helped me develop my soft skills in written and oral communication. I also consider myself an individual with good work ethics as I look forward to challenges. 10

16 8. Conclusion Animotion Toys Ltd. is looking forward to producing its first prototype cat toy. The toy, targeted towards cat owners with limited free time, will roll around to simulate a live mouse. To do this, it will roll quickly and will also respond to the actions of the cat. Through our innovative toy, pet owners can continue their busy lives without worrying that their cat is not staying active. The company consists of three fourth year engineering science students from Simon Fraser University. Through the skills of these three individuals, the company can be sure to have both a strong technical background and a strong business objective. We feel that the market for this product is large enough to continue with an extensive business plan upon completion of the prototype. This objective has created a common goal among the three founders. Our future intention to take Animotion s cat toy into production must be coupled with a distinct intention to work productively over the next few months. As such, we have created a detailed timeline to which we will adhere to. This will ensure that the prototype is completed on time, with sufficient time allocated for testing. With all of this in mind, it is important to not neglect group dynamics and efficiency. Animotion Toys Ltd. will have the first prototype built and tested by March 21 st and will have it available to demonstrate in April. 11

17 9. Sources and References 1) Ontario Veterinary Medical Association 2) American Animal Hospital Association 3) Michigan State University 4) VetInfo.com, Author: Mike Richards Doctor of Veterinary Medicine 5) CBC 12