Buddi

Read my Buddi design story here.

For our group’s Behance case study, see here.

Designed and prototyped a biomorphic smart-home device that translates invisible indoor environmental data (temperature, humidity, CO₂) into ambient, plant-like physical feedback, enabling residents to perceive and act on declining room conditions before symptoms emerge. The device used a sense–predict–actuate loop driven by a rule-based inference engine and environmental sensors, with actuation expressed through organic leaf movements rather than screens or notifications.

Contributed to circuit design, sensor calibration, UI/UX, and mechanical prototyping across the full product development lifecycle — from user research and concept selection through functional prototype and user testing.

Impact:

• Designed the sensing circuit integrating temperature, humidity, and air quality sensors with microcontroller I/O, handling signal conditioning and calibration for reliable indoor environmental readings

• Developed the physical actuation system driving servo-based leaf movements, tuning motion profiles to convey environmental urgency through organic, non-alarming posture changes

• Led UI/UX design from user research (semi-structured interviews, observational studies, affinity mapping) through interaction design, shaping a calm-tech interface that 4 of 5 test users preferred over numerical dashboards

• Prototyped the enclosure and leaf mechanism through iterative CAD and fabrication, balancing form factor, modularity, and assembly constraints for a showcase-ready physical artifact