A birdbath that automatically refills itself and simultaneously waters the plants in its base when it senses its water is too hot or too dirty.








Birdbaths are a luxury that many bird lovers will spend quite a bit a money on. Yet, most are not worth the trouble to maintain them, so they quickly become stagnant pools of water: the perfect breeding grounds for mosquitoes and bacteria.
This problem could be somewhat remedied with a method of moving the water, such as a fountain attachment. However, these usually take up a majority of the space in the bowl, don't match the bowl's design, and cycling through the same water will still result in it getting more nasty with each bird who uses it. Birds are good at detecting the freshness of water, so they'll often completely avoid a poorly maintained birdbath.

Creating a user persona helps me identify the problems I should aim to solve with my design.

Create an autonomous birdbath with a focus on easy maintenance and healthier conditions for birds.
• Way of repurposing dirty or hot water
• Reducing tedious human interaction (needing to dump and refill water)
• Increasing consumer entertainment value

Form ideation, figuring out electronic components, user interaction storyboarding.

Foam core and CAD prototypes were made in tandem with concept sketches in the ideation phase. Then, CAD was refined, and a 3D printed 1/3 scale model helped realize the end product and allowed for proof of concept with added electronic components.

First, some diagramming to help visualize what each part will do. Then, putting it in action with the 1/3 scale model prototype.
