Ramblings of an Automated Mad Man (A Blog Series)
By Jerry Maldonado – VP of Automation, Customer Lifecycle Solutions
If you’re like me you have a furry pet or multiple pets that become a huge part of your life. You take care of them, feed them, play with them, and walk them. They essentially become a part of the family. So it stands reason that technology would soon be something that even your pets will soon be immersed in. Huh? What is it that you’re saying Automation Mad Man? I’m saying it stands to reason that if we have health and fitness IoT gadgets available to us humans, it won’t be long before they make them for our four legged friends as well.
The Connected Pet is a thing of today and changes in this field will lead to big business and happier, safer pets.Today you can pick up collars that will measure their temperature, GPS devices, Built-in speaker, training aids, and cameras. Today’s pets also have RFID chips and dog doors that automatically lock themselves while sending you notifications anytime your pet goes out . For feeding, we now have automated dispensers that can dole out specific quantities of food for your furry friend.
For playtime there are several devices such as iFetch that automatically plays fetch with the dog without needing you to be home. The device is a ball a launcher that will randomly fire to a spot in the room and when the dog fetches the ball, he’ll need to place it into the launcher for the next round of fire. There are also plenty of monitoring devices that lets you see Fluffy or Fido while you’re at work. Some of these video monitoring devices are connected to an app and sometimes they’re fun like Petcube, a device that allows you to watch your pet and trigger a laser to play or torture your pet while you’re at work.
But what next?
I would like for inventors to take Pet Care Automation a step further using advancements in today’s technology. Remember, I thought of this first so give credit where it’s due! Let’s say I purchased the Auto Madman Doggie 1000 kit from my local pet store. The kit contains a fancy collar with GPS, a camera, speakers, RFID tag, wireless charging kit and training aid. Also in the kit is a doggie door, red flags, and instructions on where to download a mobile app and a management app. I also ordered the optional dispensers to work with the kit. After looking through the manual, I start the installation process and charge the battery on the collar. I load up the mobile and PC app and proceed to post the flags to outline my puppy’s new boundaries. By placing a flag and pressing a button on the mobile app, it will update the GPS coordinates of the boundaries and create a GPS map of where my pooch is allowed to go when I’m not home. I’ll fill the dispensers with food, treats, and water and then plug and connect the management app program and create a schedule for my puppy. In addition, I can also record command words such as “Got to go out “ , “Bad dog” , “Good boy”, and other positive reinforcements.
I am now ready to program my furry little friend to be well pampered and taken care of when left alone. I can set up alerts for anytime my puppy strays past his domains and establish command responses. I can track his whereabouts in the house and see where and what my frisky pooch is up to and if necessary, press one of the pre-programmed command sequences like “good boy”. I can set up full command sequences to dispense 3 oz. of food at lunch time, and verify the water in his dish is at 42 degrees. Upon GPS confirmation of him at his bowl; I’ll give him 5 minutes to eat and move around before we start the got to go out process. If after ten minutes he does not go out, a gentle prod of the training aide reminds him of his need to go out. The doggie door alerts the system of his exit and GPS tracks his location to his favorite area to relieve himself. The doggie door will remain locked for 30 minutes to ensure that he has had some time to run around and do his business before it will allow him to re-enter.
After a couple of weeks of this, I may then invest in the Auto Madman Doggie Playtime 1000 with a robotic fetch tank platform add on! This is assuming that downloads are easy and it comes with the security update for the training aid and doggie door. Also I see on the website the roadmap has additional training routines for stubborn potty training dogs and mess spot sps tracker so your phone dings if you’re walking too close to a deposit in the middle of the night.
You gotta love the automated world!
So what do you think? Would you or your furry friends consider buying the Auto Madman Doggie 1000 kit?
Follow the Ramblings of an Automated Mad Man every Wednesday. Did you miss last week's post? Read it here: The Connected Car