You can now stalk your pet from work

Your pet doesn’thave to miss out on the selfie fad. The PetBot device takes self-portraits of your animals home alone and sends them to your smartphone so you can rest easy that your beloved companion is safe and sound. Harnessing what has been described as “petificial intelligence”, the hardware detects sounds made by your pet, activating the device to take a video or photo sent to the owner’s smartphone. Currently raising funds on Indiegogo, the gizmo will sell for $149, shipping in May next year. “PetBot gives peace of mind to pet owners. They no longer have to wonder what is happening with their pet,” says Jason Yu, the Toronto-based co-founder of the device.

Pets and their owners have managed without this contraption in the past, so why did you develop it?

It’s to make both owners and pets happy when they have to be away from each other. The device is primarily for pets because it includes “petificial intelligence” that allows pets to send notifications and selfies to their owners, surprising the owner and making them happy when they have to be away from their pet.

Why should traditional pets owners care about such a device?

It’s difficult for pet owners to always be with their pet. When they have to be away, there is currently no solution to have a meaningful interaction with their animal. PetBot is a smart pet-monitoring device that gives all pet owners peace of mind. It allows your critter to check in with their owners with selfies and also allows owners to check in with their pets by playing a sound and giving a treat.

How does the PetBot work?

The device includes “pet recognition” that will detect when a pet is seen by the camera. Once seen, the device will automatically take a selfie, share it with the owner and give a treat to the pet as a reward.

What is “petificial intelligence” and how does it work?

The PetBot uses bark (or meow) recognition along with pet recognition to determine when to notify the pet owner. For example, if you dog is barking too much, petificial intelligence will notify the pet owner and also send a selfie for the pet owner to check what is happening with their pet when they are away.

Do you have a prevision to launch your device on the market? What price could it go for?

PetBot has been in development for the last two years. We are raising funds for our campaign to support our first production run. Final price is not set, but people can get a great deal now at $149 from our campaign.