UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MARA

SMART CAT LITTER BOX

TECHNOLOGY ENTREPRENEURSHIP (ENT600): NEW PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT

FACULTY AND PROGRAMME : FACULTY OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING (EH220)

SEMESTER :7

GROUP MEMBERS : SYAZWINA BINTI AZIZI 2015635202

NURHANIZA BINTI MD KAMIS 2015228762

SITI KHAIRUNNISA BINTI AHMAD 2015635236

NORNADHIRAH BINTI HAMID 2015896504

LECTURER : DR YASMIN KAMALL KHAN

3
TABLE OF CONTENTS

1.0 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ............................................................................................ 3

2.0 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................ 4

2.1 Problem statement................................................................................................ 4

2.2 Methodology: Data collection............................................................................... 4

2.3 Limitations............................................................................................................. 5

3.0 NEW PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT (NPD) .................................................................. 6

3.1 Definition ............................................................................................................... 6

3.2 Classification of NPD ............................................................................................ 7

3.3 New Product Development Process .................................................................... 8

3.3.1 Research & Development ..................................................................................... 8

3.3.2 Product Design/Features .................................................................................... 11

3.3.3 Concept Testing .................................................................................................. 15

3.3.5 Consumer Trend Analysis .................................................................................. 18

4.0 CONCLUSION ......................................................................................................... 18

5.0 REFERENCE ........................................................................................................... 20

1.0 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

It is known that the daily struggles of a cat owner is the infinite amount of times one
must clean out the litter box by scooping the waste. This is not only unhygienic, but also a
waste in litter as some unused ones tend to get thrown out. This study was conducted to
develop a product that is semi-automatic to clean out cat waste. It also discovers how many
potential consumers are interested in the product. Also, this paper will highlight the design of
the product and reasoning behind the parameters chosen.

3
2.0 INTRODUCTION

2.1 Problem statement

Cats owner have to face various problems regarding their cats litter box. Conventional
method of cleaning litter box is by scooping. It is not only time-consuming, but is also dirty,
and a hassle, especially for owner of multiple cats because the cat waste can pile up.
Moreover, scooping will result in more cat litter being thrown away which is a waste and cat
litter can be expensive depending on the type. A typical litter box is an open rectangular box.
This type of litter box makes it possible for more dust and litter escaping the box caused by
cat behaviour of digging and bolting when littering.

2.2 Methodology: Data collection

All information was collected through several methods which are:

1. Observation
Observation was performed through the problems faced by one of our group
members who own almost 30 cats and kittens. She identified that cleaning up many
cages and litter boxes for that number of cats is exhausting, time-consuming, and
dirty. Usually, the clean-up time can take as long as 2 to 3 hours twice a day. Plus,
many of the scooped cat waste that is thrown away still have much usable cat litter.
Since her family spends more than RM200 for cat litter per month, it is a waste of cat
litter.

2. Survey or questionnaire
Several online surveys or questionnaires were conducted to identify the number of
cat owners that face the same problem, and the probability of the proposed product
to be accepted by the market.

3. Research
Research and study has been done on existing conventional litter box and self-
cleaning litter box. Based on the problem statement, it is identified that a self-
cleaning litter box with litter dispenser may be the solution.

4
2.3 Limitations

Scooping is the most common method of cleaning litter box as it is cheap and simple. While
existing self-cleaning litter box is highly efficient, it is costly, require plug, and only suitable
for premium clump litter. To introduce a new self-cleaning litter box, there are some
limitations needed to be countered:

1. Size
The size of litter box should be large enough for a big cat to enter and use it
comfortably. With extra feature, the size will increase and take too much space.

2. Cost of product
Design, features, and materials used in products developing will increase the cost of
product. Design and features include use of grate or sifter, as well as odour and dust
control system. Sturdy construction needs suitable materials. Some self-cleaning
litter box also is only suitable for a certain type of cat litter which can be expensive.

3. Efficiency of product
Small faeces and clumps can be difficult for filtration. Cat clumps can stick on sides
of the box. A lot of urine in the system also affects the separation process as it
hinders the grate or sifter.

5
3.0 NEW PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT (NPD)

3.1 Definition
Living in an era of technology, people are expecting an easier and hassle-free
lifestyle with helps of technological devices that are smart, multi-purpose, and automatically-
operated. Conventional ways of doing things can be time-consuming, difficult to perform, and
expensive. Thus, to satisfy the necessities and needs, NPD which produces new product
innovations have been introduced. Innovation is defined by Simonton (1999) as anything
that is useful, especially economically, and actually implemented in processes or artefacts.
Thanks to this field, people nowadays gain benefits from many technological products such
as Wireless internet, electrical devices and public transportations.

NDP is a complete process of bringing new products in business and engineering

perspectives. It is a process by which entrepreneur designs and creates new product or
service that will be sold to customers. The process involves transforming market opportunity
into a product available for sale whether by developing a new product or service for the
market or modifying existing products as new with better design or features.

Developing new product involves the following process:

Research and development

Product design

Concept testing

Build prototype

Test marketing

Commercialization

Figure 3.1: NPD process

6
3.2 Classification of NPD

According to Claessens (2016) and Iskanderani (2016), new products can be classified into
the following categories:

1. Completely new product

It involves new-to-the-world products which are new inventions that create a whole
new market, and new-to-the-firm products which are not new to the world, but new to
the firm.

2. Improvement on existing products

There are four categories of new product in this classification which are additions to
existing product lines, product developments, repositioning, and cost reductions.
Additions to existing product lines are usually new to the company, but they fit under
an existing product line that the company makes. Current products are made better
by improving quality, features or performance of an existing product. Repositioning
involves introducing new application for an existing product for a new market
segment. Products which offer similar benefits at a lower cost are cost reductions.

There are many self-cleaning litter box in the market nowadays (Imperial, 2017). To properly
suit our problem statement, modification is performed on the existing products.

7
3.3 New Product Development Process

3.3.1 Research & Development

a) Idea generation

The idea sparked as one of my group members told us how her family has to work
for long hours to clean up their cats cages including their litter boxes. Her family has
been caring for more than 30 cats or kittens for 3 years and now has a large cage
that can house up to 20 cats, as well as several cages and carriers. Some of them
also stay inside the house. For that many cats, they have to spend almost 2 hours
twice a day to clean the cages and 8 litter boxes. It is time consuming and exhausting.
Moreover, when scooping out cat waste, some of the litters are thrown away with it. It
is a waste as her family spends around RM225.00 per month on cat litters.

To solve her familys problems, they can use a cat litter box that is self-
cleaning, easy to handle, and able to effectively remove clumps without wasting cat
litters. Thus, we came up with several ideas for the litter box.

Automatic/Manual
use

Mosquito repellent Litter dispencer

Self-Cleaning
Litter Box

Dust reducer Sweeping/rotating

filtration

Odour absorber

Figure 3.2: Ideas for self-cleaning litter box

b) Idea screening

8
 Based on Figure 3.2, we have decided to develop a self-cleaning litter box with
the following features:

i. Manual use
We prefer manual use because we would like to avoid requiring power
sources such as plugs or battery. We would like to make the litter box
removable and can be placed anywhere especially outdoors.

ii. Rotating filtration

Cat waste is separated by rotating filtration instead of sweeping. We
choose this method because it is suitable with the design of a drum. The
design reduces cat litter from escaping the litter box caused by digging or
bolting when and after the cats use the litter. The design also allows a
complete clean-up by just a spin.

iii. Litter dispenser

To minimize the use of cat litter, we add on a litter dispenser that would
release a set amount of fresh litter into the litter box. This would prevent
from overusing cat litter and allow for mixing litter residue.

c) Market survey

According to Lintz (2016), cat care has experienced significant growth in recent years
due to the increase of cat ownership. A report from APPA National Pet Owners
Survey shows that there are 85.5 million pet cats in the United State. The big
beneficiary of the growth in cat ownership is the litter category which accounts to
near USD1.8 billion in sales in 2015. Subsequently, litter box and related accessories
category has also been blooming.

Market survey is conducted by preparing a questionnaire to gain information

on self-cleaning litter box demand and its potential in market. The results or
responses of 73 people are shown in Figure 3.3.

9
 Yes No Outside Toilet Litter box
(a) (b)

Yes No Dont mind No Yes

(c) (d)

Yes No
(e)
Figure 3.3: Survey responses on (a) Cat owners; (b) Handling cat littering (c) time availability
to clean up cats litter; (d) Hygienic litter box; (e) Interest in self-cleaning litter box

Based on the results, it is found that more than 50% of respondents have at least a
cat at home. More cat owners prefer letting their cat do its business outside and using litter
box. The majority of the respondents agreed that they do not have enough time to clean up
litter box and that cleaning with scooping by hand is not hygienic. Consequently, self-
cleaning litter box has gain a lot of interest with nearly 80% of respondents is willing to invest
in the product. Thus, self-cleaning litter box is concluded to have a high potential in litter box
market.

10
3.3.2 Product Design/Features

The smart cat litter box consists of a square base 50 cm long and wide. On top sits a
hollow cylinder drum with a 25 cm radius. The base and drum are depicted in Figure 3.4 and
are colored beige. The back side of the drum is fully closed and the front part has a circular
guard that is 10 cm wide. A frame keeps the drum axially mobile but stationary in the
horizontal and vertical direction. On the right side of the drum there is a compartment
responsible for trapping the cat waste and allows easy disposal. Meanwhile in blue, the cat
litter dispenser has a height of 54 cm and a width of 21 cm. There is an opening on the top
for cat litter refills and a chute leading into the drum for litter replenishment. Side, top, front
and full views were included in figures 3.5 to 3.8.

Figure 3.4: Dimensions of Product

11
Figure 3.5: Front View of Product

Figure 3.6: Side View of Product

Figure 3.7: Top View of Product

12
 Figure 3.8: Full View of the Product

To utilize the convenient smart cat litter box is a simple procedure. The only
important thing to note is a clumping variety of litter must be used in order for the product to
function efficiently. When a cat jumps in to complete natures call there will be waste inside
the drum. A cat owner only needs to rotate the mobile drum anti-clockwise. From the rotation
motion the waste eventually gets trapped into a compartment as in figure 3.9 that has built in
sifters that is wide enough to allow unused litter to pass but narrow enough to catch any
clumps. Notice the external object in blue that is the litter dispenser. This component will
replenish the litter lost to the waste eliminating the need to manually replace the litter. The
rotation motion will trigger a latch inside the drum that opens up the hatch leading up to the
dispenser where fresh litter is located.

Figure 3.9: Sifter View

13
 The overall size of the product is 90 cm wide, 50 cm long, and at a 56 cm height. A
diameter and width of 50 cm was chosen for the drum because that fits the average house
cat dimensions. When a cat occupies the hollow space of the drum it is given total privacy
from the completely covered backside and the partially covered front. This feature also
serves a dual purpose that is to ensure that litter stays only inside of the drum. The circular
guard allocates enough room for the cat to pass through but is tall enough to make sure litter
does not leak out. A weighted square base is used to ensure stability of the product.

With ease for the user and transportation in mind, the whole product is detachable and will fit
in a 1 meter box. The drum will also have rubber strips glued to it so that when the user
rotates it he/she will have some form of grip. At only less than a meter wide, the product is
also friendly for those that are pressed on space. It fits perfectly in a corner be it in a room or
the bathroom. The smart cat litter box also comes in a variety of colors as depicted in Figure
3.10 to cater to the aesthetic needs of the consumer. Lastly, in the event of damage to the
components replacement drums and litter dispensers can also be purchased separately.

Figure 3.10: Available colors

14
3.3.3 Concept Testing
The flow of self-cleaning litter box with dispenser are as follows:

Existance of clumping
litter Cats

Rotate the litter box

the clumping litter will

stuck at the waste tray

People
Removal of clumping
litter from the waste tray

Refill the litter box with

clean litter from litter
dispenser

Figure 3.11: The work flow of smart cat litter box

15
3.3.4 Test Marketing

A survey has been done by using google form to test the market survey among the
surrounding people but mainly focus on the owners of cat.

Figure 3.12: Time availability of the responder in handling their pets litter

Figure 3.13: Willingness of responder to invest in our product

16
 Figure 3.14: Range of price that suitable for our product

Figure 3.15: Marketing between surrounding people

From the response received, our product gained positive feedbacks from the responder. It
shows that our product can be accepted by the community and might be helpful to the cats
owner to handle their pets waste and house hygiene in the limited time.

17
 3.3.5 Consumer Trend Analysis
The consumer trend canvas may assist in gathering and analyses the problem basic needs
and transform the innovation before it can commercialized. The CTC for smart cat litter box
is as below:

Time saving Providing systematic

Simplicity Systematic Hygienic in management of waste disposal
Hygiene management nature Comfortability of human and
Relevance Health Comfortability animals

Smart cat litter

box

Proper waste
management Roll and self-
Easy handling and cleaning litter box
Water dispenser Owners of cat
maintenance
Cats lover
Saves time and
Busy person
energy

18
4.0 CONCLUSION

As a conclusion, referring to the problem statement it is known that a major problem

in a cat owners day is the exhausting task of cleaning the litter box. Self-cleaning litterboxes
already exist in the current market however there is still room for improvement. The main
features of the smart cat litter box is manual usage, rotating filtration, and a litter dispenser.
A poll directed to the public produced results that at least half of the respondents have cats
at home and 80% of those respondents are interested in the product. In the design process
of the product, ergonomics, size, and ease of use for the consumer were the main priority.
The aesthetic needs of the consumer were also considered. Therefore, the smart cat litter
box has potential to compete in the market of self-cleaning litter boxes based on the
research done above.

19
5.0 REFERENCE

Simonton, D. (1999). Genius, creativity, and leadership. San Jose: ToExcel.

Claessens, M. (2016). Categories of New Products What Is A New Product? [online].

Marketing-Insider. Available at: https://marketing-insider.eu/categories-of-new-products/
[Assessed 20 Nov. 2017].

Iskanderani, W. (2016). The Six Categories of New Products. [online]. Linkedin. Available at:
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/six-categories-new-products-wisam-iskanderani-npdp
[Assessed at 20 Nov. 2017].

Lintz, C. (2016). A Little Litter Goes a Long Way. [online]. Pet Business. Available at:
http://www.petbusiness.com/April-2016/A-Little-Litter-Goes-a-Long-Way/ [Assessed at 21
Nov. 2017].
Imperiale, D. (2017). The 6 Best Self Cleaning Litter Boxes. [online]. Ezvid Wiki. Available at:
https://wiki.ezvid.com/best-self-cleaning-litter-boxes [Assessed on 21 Nov. 2017].

20