Hey HN, I made a tool to help dog owners understand what their pets are trying to communicate.
The problem: Most people can’t read dog body language well. A wagging tail doesn’t always mean happy, tucked ears can signal many things.
My approach:
1. Rule engine scans for keywords (tail, ears, pacing) → instant interpretation
2. AI layer (Pollinations) adds emotional context and actionable tips
3. Breed-aware filtering since a Chihuahua and Great Dane communicate differently
4. History logging so families stay consistent
Technical bits I’m proud of:
– Zero-framework vanilla JS that still feels modern
– Smart fallback: AI fails → rules work → offline mode with cached audio
– CSP bypass using CF Worker for embedding restricted iframes
– localStorage-based i18n without bundling MB of JSON
It’s been helpful for 620k+ households. All client-side, free, no tracking beyond Clarity analytics.
Try it: https://dogtranslator.org
Happy to discuss the AI prompting strategy or architecture choices!
Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45632225
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Source: dogtranslator.org
