What’s up pet? Well take a look at these devices
Gadgets help owners keep track of beloved animals
Looking after the family pet has gone high tech with facial recognition, locator devices and pet doors controlled by phone a few of the new tools to keep tabs on cats and dogs.
The Big Brother-type advances not only mean lost pets are reunited with families sooner but they aim to stop them getting lost or injured in the first place.
New Zealand’s largest database of pets has just adopted Positive Identification of Pet or “PiP” facial recognition software — usually more common with catching crims than cats.
Nygllhuw Morris, of New Zealand Companion Animal Register (NZCAR), said there had been a flood of people registering their pets on the site — and it has already had success reuniting one pet with its owner.
All pet owners have to do is visit the site to upload a photo of their cat or dog and if their pet goes missing the software scans thousands of lost pet images for a match.
“It uses amazing technology that can compare thousands of images and narrow it down to just a few,” Morris told the Weekend Herald.
“It doesn’t look at colour but at the exact position and size of eyes, ears, mouth. It is very accurate.”
The technology is so smart it can tell the difference between cats people have trouble telling apart.
Morris said pets without a microchip had a 25 to 40 per cent chance of being reunited with their owner. For pets with a microchip that chance jumps to 85 per cent.
Facial recognition boosts that further to 95 per cent.
Improvements to other gadgets such as GPS and locator devices and microchip pet doors that can be controlled by phone are also helping reduce the number of lost and injured animals.
Inquisitive felines Leo and Clover have most of their nine lives intact because of a “Tabcat” locator disc.
The handheld remote control works by radio frequency and uses lights and beeps to direct you to your pet’s exact location.
Owners Mila and Pippa LynchBlosse have found their cats in the neighbour’s garage, in the ceiling space and even several streets away.
The Lynch-Blosse household also has a
Sure Petcare
It uses amazing technology that can compare thousands of images and narrow it down to just a few.
microchip cat door which can be locked and unlocked via a smartphone app.
It means Leo and Clover can be kept inside at the touch of a button and their owners know where they are. Raewyn Carter, of Sure Petcare, said the world’s first appcontrolled pet door, which was introduced to New Zealand just months ago, had been a huge success. “It really is a fantastic product.
“Owners can also set a curfew to keep their pets indoors at specified times during the day or night.”
The app sends an alert to the phone
(with an audible
Hmeow) when a cat has entered or left the house, to give peace of mind.
The company has also released a cat feeder that will only open with the correct microchip to stop intruder cats stealing biscuits.
There are plans for a smartphonecontrolled feeder.
Morris said he was thrilled with all the advancements.
“We get great satisfaction when we get a match and can reunite a lost pet with their owner,” Morris said.
NZCAR has 3500 lost pets on its database at any time so technologies such as GPS, tracker devices and remote cat doors were welcome. “We urge everyone to have their pets microchipped for a start but anything to help keep pets safe and at home is fantastic.”
Products were constantly being improved and becoming cheaper.