PetalPoints
Gamified Chore Tracker for Roommates
PetalPoints is a gamified solution for managing household chores, designed to transform routine tasks into a playful and engaging experience. Designed for roommates, the system tackles the common frustrations and conflicts that arise when dividing chores by reframing them as part of a friendly game. Through points, visual feedback, and dynamic rewards, PetalPoints motivates consistent participation while fostering collaboration.
Time
Team
Year
5 Weeks
Individual
2025
BRIEF AND EXPLORATION
Develop an interactive scoreboard that inspires and enables to engage in personally significant goals.
Project Focus and Methodology
Keeping a shared space clean shouldn’t feel like a burden—but in many living situations, neglected chores often lead to tension and conflict. This project set out to address that challenge by grounding the design process in three personally significant goals: autonomy, purpose, and relatedness. These values served as a guiding philosophy, shaping decisions with the dual aim of reducing conflict while fostering ownership, meaning, and stronger connections in shared environments.
Being the cause of your own actions and feeling that you can do things your own way.
Having a clear sense of what makes your life meaningful and valuable.
Having warm, mutual, trusting relationships with people who you care about.
REFINED DESIGN CHALLENGE
Design a chore/task scoreboard that encourages roommates to complete different house chores together by adding a sense of fun and competition to these tasks.
COMPONENTS AND DESIGN
PetalPoints introduces a playful, gamified approach to shared living. By focusing on intuitive human–machine interaction, the design transforms the tension of chore delegation into an engaging experience. The flower-inspired form is approachable and decorative, while its interactive feedback system invites users to participate, compete, and collaborate in maintaining their shared space.
PetalPoints integrates multiple electronic components into a cohesive system that transforms chore tracking into an engaging interactive experience. A NeoPixel LED ring provides dynamic color feedback, while a servo motor drives physical movement within the flower form to signal progress and performance. A rotary encoder enables user input and control, and a piezo buzzer adds sound-based responses to reinforce interaction and competition.
All components are housed within a custom 3D-printed flower pot shell, allowing for a clean, decorative exterior that blends seamlessly into a living space. This enclosure conceals the technical elements while ensuring reliable functionality, creating a balance between playful aesthetics and robust interaction. By combining light, motion, sound, and tactile input, PetalPoints delivers a multisensory feedback system that motivates participation and turns everyday chores into a game.
PROCESS
