Did ever wonder how your cat or dog is being treated when you board it? Pete Cross decided to answer that question with technology.
He created the PetInspect gadget, which records data on how a pet is being treated while it is boarded. The data-logger and wireless communications device lets you track your pet's environment -- hot or cold -- and whether the pet is getting exercise. This gadget consists of a 16-bit microcontroller with 256K of flash memory and sensors for pressure, temperature, activity, light, and proximity.
Pete Cross' cat Elmo shows off the PetInspect, a data-logger and wireless communications device that lets you discover what environment your pet experiences and how it behaves while you're not around.
The PCB has dedicated power and ground planes on each board. The electronics package, including batteries, fits into a cylinder 28mm (1.1 inches) in diameter and 23mm (0.9 inches) in length.
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What a sophisticated gadget. Extremely well documented with a 504 page pdf file. A huge amount of work went into this. How long did it take Mr. Cross to develop this?
Yes, Andrew, I was also impressed by the complexity of this gadget. As for the pdf, we actually asked for a shorter version. In the end the production folks decided they could post the entire novel-length code.
Yes, it is a very cool gadget. The only thing I can say is that our cats would not wear it. They have destroyed all the collars we have gotten them. We also don't board the cats. They are easy to care for and we can get neighbors to come over and feed them.
Yes, I can understand what you're saying about cats, Naperlou. Over the years, my dogs have been fine with collars, but I've never even tried to get one of my cats to wear a collar. It will be interesting to hear what our gadget maker says about this.
If you want your cat to wear a collar, then it's best to start with them when they are young. They just expect that to be normal from then on.
If you try anything like this at home, then please do use a proper collar bought from a pet store. Cats can be strangled in the event they get it hooked up on a branch. That's extremely rare and can be avoided entirely by buying one designed to break when that happens. I just bought a cheap flea collar for this project. It is designed to expand and break under the weight of the cat.
@pete.cross: That's a very interesting master's thesis ("Control, communication and monitoring of intravaginal drug delivery in dairy cows"). I'd imagine that getting a cat to wear a collar is very simple in comparison.
I'd bet money this could be a successful product. Dog and cat owners now spend fairly large amounts of money for shots and veterinary bills. This cost of this product might be small by comparison.
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