Inspiration
Everyone struggles with procrastination, and while there are endless apps and timers that claim to help, most are far too easy to ignore. We wanted to create something different: a productivity tool you can’t mute or brush aside. That’s where the goose came in. Honking geese are loud, obnoxious, and impossible to tune out, the perfect embodiment of a productivity enforcer. We thought, what if that goose was also a robot sitting in the corner of your room, watching what you’re doing and making sure you stay on task? That idea became HONCK: a grumpy robotic goose that turns accountability into something you literally can’t avoid.
What it does
HONCK is a productivity robot disguised as a stuffed goose. It sits in your room with a built-in camera, monitoring your activity to determine whether you’re being productive. If you’re working, great, HONCK leaves you alone. But the second you start slacking, HONCK springs into action. It complains loudly, giving you a burst of “goose guilt” that pushes you back to work. HONCK doesn’t try to be your friendly coach, it’s impatient, grumpy, and just a little petty. That personality makes it both funny and surprisingly motivating: you want to keep working just to stop it from yelling at you.
How we built it
Hardware
- Raspberry Pi embedded inside a plushie robot with integrated camera module for continuous visual tracking
- RPi handles signal processing and triggers HONCK’s audio outputs
Software
- Frontend built with TypeScript, React Native (Expo) and Tailwind CSS for cross-platform mobile access
- Backend in FastAPI and SQLite
AI Object Detection
- OpenCV and Tensorflow for AI object detection libraries
- Groq for higher level productivity analysis based on object detection
Challenges we ran into
- Balancing utility, novelty, and the short hackathon timeframe. We wanted HONCK to be funny, but also genuinely useful.
- Integrating Groq into the pipeline and fine-tuning recognition for reliable results.
- Improving camera functionality so the goose didn’t honk at random or miss obvious distractions.
- Getting all the moving pieces (Raspberry Pi, camera, React Native frontend, and recognition software) to communicate smoothly.
Accomplishments that we're proud of
- Building a fully working prototype that combined both hardware and software into one cohesive system.
- Designing a goose that doesn’t just detect procrastination, but also reacts with personality, making it memorable and entertaining.
- Creating a project that every member of our team was genuinely excited about and proud to show off.
- Hearing the first successful HONCK barb exactly when someone stopped working was both hilarious and satisfying.
What we learned
- Humor and personality can turn a simple tool into something people want to engage with.
- The challenges of combining real-time recognition, hardware, and frontend development within tight deadlines.
- How much more motivating accountability becomes when it’s wrapped in comedy and character.
- That sometimes the best solution isn’t polished or polite sometimes it’s loud, grumpy, and feathers-in-your-face effective.
What's next for HONCK!
- Voice AI Agent and Microphone integration: Allowing users to talk back to their goose (and maybe get roasted in return).
- Deeper productivity tracking: Expanding the mobile app to track trends, streaks, and behavior insights over time.
- More goose personality: Adding different honks, angrier movements, and even fun animations to make HONCK feel more alive.
- Customization: Letting users tune HONCK’s aggression levels: from “gentle goose nudges” to “full-on honk storm.”
- Workplace potential: Imagine HONCK sitting in a shared office space, keeping entire teams accountable with its loud interruptions.
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