10 — Prototyping & Interaction
DoCare
A connected ecosystem of devices that blends into the home to support thyroid patients through their complex morning routine, guiding medication intake and the strict fasting window afterwards through light and voice, without screens.
Video
Brief
The goal was to support patients with thyroid conditions through their complex morning routine. The real obstacle for these patients isn’t remembering to take the pill, but respecting the strict 45–60 minute fast that follows. A coffee taken too early cancels the drug’s effect. The brief asked for a system able to turn this invisible, frustrating wait into a guided domestic experience, making sure the treatment actually works.
Research & Challenges
Research showed that reminder apps fail because patients hate interacting with screens right after waking. Often, in a hurry, they ruin the drug’s absorption by having breakfast too soon; when they later complain of chronic tiredness, they feel dismissed by doctors who tend to minimise the problem. The real design challenge became abandoning the smartphone screen: the interface had to move directly into the physical space of the home, guiding the user from bed to kitchen naturally and, finally, providing objective evidence of how their treatment is going.
Concept & Solution
DoCare is an ecosystem of connected devices that blends into the furniture, accompanying the user without screens. The Bedside Tracker silently and automatically detects when the pill is taken, instantly starting the fasting countdown. The Kitchen Companion visually shows how much time is left before the wait ends: if the user tries to open the fridge or make a coffee too early, it steps in with a gentle voice guide to stop them. The Mobile App, detached from the morning routine, is used in free time: it turns the data collected at home into objective reports, giving the patient a clear document to show their doctor and prove the real effectiveness of the treatment.
Personality Design & Local AI
The system’s voice and light are designed to feel gentle and reassuring, never alarming: DoCare accompanies, it doesn’t scold. To protect sensitive health data, the intelligence that governs reminders and interventions lives locally on the home devices, without sending personal information to the cloud, a Local AI & privacy framework that keeps care within the walls of the home.