The world’s first “smart toilet” for felines is to be launched, with the capability of analysing cat urine and electronically alerting the pet’s owner to detected health issues.
The Pet Care Monitor litter tray has been created by Japanese consumer electronic multinational, the Sharp Corporation – a world leader in hi-tech TVs and mobile telephone technology, and the company that produced the world’s first LCD calculator.
The Asahi Shimbun daily newspaper in Tokyo reported the product will be available to buy on Sharp’s website from 30 July.
Writing for the website Mental Floss, Emily Petsko explained how the new technology works.
Under the headline “New health-monitoring litter box could save you a trip to the vet”, she wrote: “Sensors embedded in the monitor can measure your cat’s weight and urine volume, as well as the frequency and duration of toilet trips. That information is then analysed by an artificial intelligence program that compares it to data gleaned from a joint study between Sharp and Tottori University in Japan.”
She added: “If there are any red flags, a report will be sent directly to your smartphone via an application called Cocoro Pet. The monitor could be especially useful for keeping an eye on cats with a history of kidney and urinary tract problems.
“If you have several cats, the company offers sensors to identify each pet, allowing separate data sets to be collected and analysed (each smart litter box can record the data of up to three cats).”
Pet Care Monitor will cost about US$225 (£170), with an additional monthly fee of about US$3 (£2.27) for the service.
Lire la suite: www.vettimes.co.uk
