Kickstarter really has lit the fires of creativity beneath the feet of humanity. This time, it has inspired a group of Americans to seek funds for a game console for dogs called CleverPet.
The idea is fairly simple – the CleverPet is a bowl-sized pet-proof device that rests on the ground and communicates with your dog using light and sound, rewarding it for solving simple puzzles. Should the dog manage to press the correct button, something the CleverPet subtly encourages it to do, a food reward is dispensed.
The challenge presented to the dog also changes over time thanks to the fact that the CleverPet has more than one type of puzzle for the dog to solve. CleverPet’s Kickstarter page says that the challenges are “always adjusting – never too easy or too hard”, something that prevents the dog from simply learning one trick and repeating it until it’s full. Over time, as your dog learns what’s expected, it may even get smarter. Hence, CleverPet.
App-connected
The CleverPet is also entirely app-accessible as it connects to the internet over WiFi, allowing you to monitor how often your dog tries to earn itself a treat and even broadcast recordings of your voice to your dog remotely from your smartphone.
CleverPet’s creators, San Diego-based Dan Knudsen and Leo Trottier said that pets in the US spend over ten billion hours alone a year leading to separation anxiety and destructive behaviour, and their CleverPet web-enabled interactive snack-dispenser can help alleviate those issues.
The Kickstarter campaign is offering an early bird rate of $129 (around R1 300) to get yourself a CleverPet when it becomes available in February 2015. Going on previous Kickstarter experience, shipping to South Africa shouldn’t be a problem but you might want to double-check that first before backing the project anyway.
Want to see it in action? Head over to its Kickstarter page and see the pitch video put together by Knudsen and Trottier.
[Source – Kickstarter.com, Image – Kickstarter.com]
