If you’re reading this article, it likely means you’re at your full time job. If you’re a pet owner and have a dog or cat at home, do you ever wonder what they’re up to? Do you worry they’re lonely? Do you wish you could say “hi” to them when you’re having a rough day? Well, this nifty little gadget Furbo, the interactive dog camera, is just what you need.
What exactly is Furbo? It’s an interactive HD camera you can use to monitor your pet, which also includes two-way audio and a treat launcher—all controlled by an app on your smart phone. Furbo’s been designed with the loving pet owner in mind, providing you the ability to interact with your companions from afar. As I mentioned, it also has a treat launcher. When Furbo gets ready to fire out a treat, it lights up in a cool blue hue which stimulates the optical receptors in dogs and it triggers an audible clicking noise similar to that of a trainer’s clicker to get their attention.
The difference between this camera and other pet-monitoring cameras is the specific design it has to best interact with dogs and that cool treat-launching ability. Some pet cameras silently drop a treat… boring! With Furbo, you can get your pet’s attention and reinforce good behavior (or tell them to stop bad behavior). Another neat feature that I really like is its smart privacy mode: when you’re home the camera can be disabled via the app, and it reactivates when you leave. You can even set “bark alerts” to be sent to your phone so if your dog starts barking at something you can see what’s going on and calm them, if necessary, by talking to them with the two-way audio. You can even use Furbo to take pictures and record video!
The concept has been in the works since June 2014 and it’s set to begin mass production in June 2016 with the first units going out in July. I think it’s pretty cool for anyone who has pets at home they want to keep an eye on and interact with. The bark alert in particular is really cool, if not to check on your dog, then for security purposes (most dogs will let you know if anyone is near your home and the camera could let you see). Check it out for yourself on their Indiegogo page here.
