A) the human feeds the cat, with delicious wet food, every morning. Many cats are only fed once daily anyway, this cat is fed twice daily.
B) When traveling, one is not at home to feed the cat, at all. If fed, cats are quite content to have the house to themselves for a few days. If a cat is disciplined about eating, you can just put a lot of food in the bowl and leave it alone while you travel. If not, you need to build a machine to dispense food, or pay another human to come by and feed the cat.
C) I often enjoy reading stories about the process of engineering (iterated problems, solutions, new problems, etc.), even if the final result is 'over' engineered.
I have a cat. I know how it works. Part of having a pet is dealing with the fact that you have to take care of it. Many people have pets and go on vacations.
>even if the final result is 'over' engineered.
This is a major issue though. It's why a lot of engineers can't translate ideas and solutions into elegant businesses...
Of course there is nothing wrong with this project, so long as you understand it completely misses solving the actual problem at hand.
"Can't" create an elegant business, or "don't care to"? Different people are motivated by different things.
Seems to me the person undertaking this cat-feeder project is the one who gets to decide whether or not they have solved the "actual problem at hand", since they are the one who decided what the problem was in the first place.
B) When traveling, one is not at home to feed the cat, at all. If fed, cats are quite content to have the house to themselves for a few days. If a cat is disciplined about eating, you can just put a lot of food in the bowl and leave it alone while you travel. If not, you need to build a machine to dispense food, or pay another human to come by and feed the cat.
C) I often enjoy reading stories about the process of engineering (iterated problems, solutions, new problems, etc.), even if the final result is 'over' engineered.