Dachikou: a familiar voice for everyday support.

Dachikou means “buddy” in Japanese, reflecting the app’s focus on companionship.

Our team explored how technology could support older adults who spend time alone, while helping family members stay involved around work and other commitments. We developed Dachikou as a startup project as part of FIT3195 Deep Tech Entrepreneurship at Monash University.

The companion app brought together AI conversation in a familiar family voice, everyday reminders, and personal messages. A connected family member interface supported setting reminders and receiving updates.

Alongside the prototype, our team considered user feedback, existing companion products, and how the idea could become a viable service for families.

• Created the complete interactive Figma prototype from scratch, including screen designs and clickable user journeys for older adults and family members.
• Contributed to the React Native frontend development of the working mobile prototype.
• Served as Gold Team’s Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), researching security considerations for personal and voice data and designing a proposed system architecture.
• Prepared the security presentation material and joined the team’s product demonstration and startup pitch.

I used Figma for interface design and interactive prototyping, and React Native for mobile frontend development. My work also involved user journey design, security research, system architecture planning, and communicating technical ideas within a product team.

Our team demonstrated a working mobile prototype supporting cloned voice playback, AI conversation, reminders, and updates for family members.

The project helped me connect interface design with frontend development and think through the architecture and security needs of a product using personal voice data. It also gave me experience translating a product idea into user journeys and collaborating on a working demonstration.