Seems every dog shall have its…robot? That’s right–now Fido can get in on all the iBot action with Anthouse’s Pet Companion Robot.
I have two dogs–one is a Golden oldie with three legs and she just likes to lay around, soaking up sun. I am cool with that. The other is an eight-month old lab-mix puppy I scooped up back at the Global Pet Expo because she was so stinking cute (and, if honest, didn’t know whether our Golden was going to survive and hoped a puppy may help our hurting hearts).
She’s still cute. And boy, is she smart! And high-energy! And high maintenance! She has such a playful puppy spirit but it’s insatiable and I am constantly looking for the next best toy to keep that busy brain, well, busy. So imagine how fast I started counting up all the pennies in my jar when I came across this Kickstarter from Anthouse!
It’s a bot, not too different from all the bot toys my son has, but this one is made for dogs just like mine! The Pet Companion Robot rolls around with a front-mounted camera, and with an iOS/Android app, you can get a real-time, bird’s-eye view of what Fluffy is up to.
From the app, you can also steer the robot, taking pictures and talking to your pup all the while. Talk about relieving guilt when you have to leave that poor pup behind as you head off to work! It’s not only remote-controlled for your convenience, but can be used as a toy to entertain your dog. It launches little mini-tennis balls for dogs to chase, and honestly, my puppy goes nuts over the moths she sees on the front porch, so this would light her world up! Imagine a robot that plays with your dog when you can’t? It’s like the Jetsons in real life!
It wouldn’t be any kind of robot at all if it didn’t offer treats for all the fabulous interaction it gives your dog, and you can vary the treat amount and portion as it is dispensed from the side of the robot. Like some of our other favorite bots out there, the Pet Companion knows when the juice is getting low, so it’ll head on back to its wireless charging station for a spell. It’ll use infrared obstacle detection as it heads there, basically making it less clumsy than my six-year-old, who manages to bump into air on the way anywhere.
Sure, sure… your dog may get a little suspicious as to how you know she’s sneaking into the liverwurst while you’re gone, but shoot out another tennis ball and watch her go mad as you plaster the video you can watch and save all over social media.
All joking aside, this -bot is bound to catch the attention of your pet in many different ways, and give you some peace of mind if and when you can’t be there with your pet for personal interaction. Its Kickstarter campaign has already raised over $17,000, and there are still extremely early bird rewards that start at $299. The estimated delivery date is this December… so go ahead and let visions of robots chasing dogs around your tree dance in your head!
