Press Release
Pengu Buddy Animal Health Tracking System by Here Design Studio Is Granted the A' Design Award in Social Design
Here Design Studio honored for social design by the international grand jury of the 2024 - 2025 A' Design Award & Competition
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COMO, Italy, April 18, 2025 /DesignNewswire/ Pengu Buddy Animal Health Tracking System by Here Design Studio, designed for Georgia Aquarium, has been granted the A' Design Award in the Social Design category, A' Design Award & Competition has announced. The award was conferred within the 2024 - 2025 A' Design Award & Competition and was decided through blind peer review by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members, who evaluated anonymized entries against predetermined criteria.
What the A' Design Award Means
The Iron A' Design Award is awarded to good designs that meet the rigorous professional and industrial standards set by the A' Design Awards. This recognition is reserved for works that demonstrate a solid understanding of design principles and show creativity within their execution. Recipients of the Iron A' Design Award are acknowledged for their practical innovations and contributions to their respective fields, providing solutions that improve quality of life and foster positive change. These designs are a testament to the skill and dedication of their creators, showcasing their ability to address real-world challenges through thoughtful design.
About Pengu Buddy Animal Health Tracking System
Pengu Buddy is an animal health tracking system designed for a penguin habitat. The system combines an underwater robot with a mobile application. The robot serves as a toy for penguins and encourages activity through games that visitors control from the application. During play, the robot collects visual and acoustic data and sends the data to a dashboard used by keepers for health monitoring. The application also offers educational content about penguins and options to support conservation through donations and gifts.
Award Record
With this recognition, Here Design Studio is a winner of 1 A' Design Award.
About the A' Social Design Award
The A' Social Design Award is an international design competition recognizing excellence in social design by social impact designers and think-tanks worldwide. The competition is organized within the A' Design Award & Competition and is open to social designers, social brands, social manufacturers and social design professionals from all countries. Entries typically include community projects, social campaigns, public installations, educational programs, sustainable initiatives and healthcare solutions. Awarded social designs are published at https://desingers.org/design-category/social
About A' Design Award & Competition
A' Design Award & Competition is an international, juried design accolade organized annually since 2008. The competition is open to entries from all countries. The A' Design Award has a philanthropic mission to advance society through good design by recognizing and promoting superior products, projects and services that benefit society, and by creating a global awareness and appreciation for good design practices and principles. Entries are peer reviewed and anonymously evaluated by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members against predetermined criteria such as functionality, ergonomics, engineering, presentation, innovation, usability, sustainability and technology, with score normalization applied to remove biases. Awards are conferred at Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze and Iron levels. The A' Design Prize granted to eligible laureates includes the award trophy, the certificate of design excellence, the hardcover yearbook, a lifetime license to use the A' Design Award winner logo, exhibition of awarded works, an invitation to the gala night and award ceremony in Italy, inclusion in the World Design Rankings and Designer Rankings, and public relations and publicity services. Registration, the upload of a work and the preliminary score are free of charge, and Professional and Digital Edition laureates are not contractually obliged to pay further fees to claim the A' Design Prize. Further information is available at https://competition.adesignaward.com
Press Resources
- Winner Page: https://desingers.org/163059
- A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/163059
- Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!163059
- Laureate Profile: https://desingers.org/d/340562
Media Contact
Giulia Ferrari, Press Office
Designers.Org
Via Leone Leoni 32, 22100 Como, Italy
press@designers.org
+39 031 4491953
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Fact Sheet
The Work
- Project
- Pengu Buddy Animal Health Tracking System
- Function
- Animal Health Tracking System
- Category
- Social Design
- Discipline
- Communication Design
- Industry
- Social Impact
- Colors
- White Smoke, Gainsboro, Lavender, Dim Gray and Light Blue
- Images
- 5
- Client
- Georgia Aquarium
The Recognition
- Laureate
- Here Design Studio
- Country
- United States of America
- Recognition
- A' Design Award
- Edition
- 2024 - 2025
- Design ID
- #163059
Credits
- Team
- Yuwei Li, Xinyue Ren, Yuchuan Yu and Han Huang, Youyang Hao
- Image Credits
- Melody Moore Jackson, Georgia Tech ACI Lab
Design Details
- Unique Properties
- PenguBuddy is an interactive health data tracking system combining technology and wildlife care. It features an underwater robot that acts as both a playful toy for penguins and a data collection tool for keepers. The companion mobile app lets visitors control the robot, enjoy immersive interactions, access educational content, and support conservation through donations and gifts. This innovative solution drives positive social impact in wildlife conservation and public engagement.
- Inspiration
- Zoo animals, including penguins, often experience mood and behavior changes due to environmental and habitual shifts, leading to depression, reduced appetite, and decreased activity. However, the existing technology lacks effective data tracking for individual penguins. The design solution draws inspiration from penguins' natural play behaviors and environmental enrichment strategies. By leveraging interactive robotic technology, we created a system that tracks penguin activity data and fosters engaging interactions between penguins and humans.
- Research
- This research involved multiple research approaches, including field study, 30 hours of observation, 8 interviews with keepers and visitors, and prototype testing with 12 participants. Observation helped us understand interactions between visitors, keepers, and penguins. Interviews revealed pain points and expectations. We explored existing health tracking technologies and developed core design concepts using environment enrichment, robot interaction, and AI data insights. User feedback from prototype testing guided our design improvements.
- Challenge
- The central design challenge involved harmonizing penguin welfare with captivating visitor interaction, navigating obstacles such as robot durability, online data processing, and ethical animal engagement. Solutions prioritized two key areas: meticulous material testing and ethical design, ensuring robot safety and scientifically informed movement patterns for responsible monitoring. And user-centric interaction design, featuring an intuitive mobile application with gamification and educational content to transform visitors from passive observers to active participants in penguin welfare. The first is the rigorous material testing and ethical design.
- Realization and Technology
- We used Figma and Adobe After Effects to design UI interfaces and also leveraged Rhino to create and render the underwater robot 3D model. Beyond that, we also tested some sensor hardware in the Georgia Institute of Technology ACI Lab.
- Operation and Interaction
- This project connects penguins, visitors, and keepers through an interactive system. Visitors control the robot via the app, creating playful interactions with penguins. The robot collects visual and acoustic data about penguins' activity and sends it to the keeper's dashboard for health monitoring. The app further enriches the visitor experience through educational content and conservation content, facilitating a meaningful connection between human interaction and scientific observation.
- Project Duration and Location
- The project started in January 2023 and completed concept phase on February 2024 in Atlanta.
- Specifications
- The mobile app interface was designed with iOS guidelines. The underwater robot dimensions: Width 640 mm x Depth 120 mm x Height 500 mm
- Keywords
- Animal Computer Interaction, Health Monitoring, Interactive Robot, Penguin Conservation, Education, Visitor Engagement, Mobile App
