How IoT will change our animals
Could you ever imagine that Internet of Things is going to change our animals? Yes, this is possible, just keep reading and you will discover it!
Pets
Basically, the most common IoT devices for dogs or cats are the animal tracking-kind. Many companies have created a similar FitBit bracelet, but for dogs’ neck. It is commonly said that the dog is the best friend of the human, so why not start understanding it?
Some examples are WÜF or FitBark, which monitors the dog’s everyday activity and allows you to track its progress. By using FitBark, the dog’s master can understand its health, changes in behaviour, share experiences with friends and family, automatically share data to its vet, etc. It fits in all kind of dogs.
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Voyce is another kind of dog tracking, but similar to FitBark. It is also a dog’s collar that monitors its vital signs, such as its heart rate, activity, rest, calories burned… All the information is stored into the Voyce’ app, so you can also see its progress, as well as it does FitBark. But there’s more! It allows you to make your relationship with your pet closer. You can set goals (for example, lose weight) and do it with your dog, creating an activity plan, so both dog and master can learn and grow together.
Or you can also check Dogtelligent with its Connected Collar.
And what do you think about the devices that monitor your animal’s location? Yes, it does exist. Look at Whistle, from Tagg, which is a location tracking device attached on your dog’s collar. It also alerts you in case of extreme temperatures (too cold or too hot), which helps you to keep it healthy, and tracks dog’s activity and rest as well.
But the things go farer. Party New York has created the Disco Dog, a LED dog vest controlled by a smartphone. The lights allow you to change the different patterns available (sparkling, stripe, gradient…) or even messages, such as “HELLO”, with the smartphone’s app. In addition, you can use it to find your dog in case it gets lost, because of an automatic “LOST DOG” message that appears when it runs too far away and the connection is lost. If you can’t believe it, then look:
Sometimes it is hard for us to take much care of our pets, because of our working timetables, sport routines… But it becomes easier with Petcube, a remote wireless Pet Camera you can control using your smartphone. You are able to see, talk to them, and even make them move! Then you can share your videos on Social Media to let everyone know how happy and funny is your pet.
A similar device is iCPooch, a pet treat dispenser and computer all in one. This allows masters to keep in touch with their pets, allowing them to video chat while away from home. It is said “don’t worry, be happy”, and in this case, it is true, so you will be able to go away and not suffer anxiety.
Farm animals
The revolution is also going to land in the farming world to improve get information and improve its systems.
Talking about cows, it would be interesting to monitor their health and also fertility. Why? Because it will allow the farmer to know exactly when his/her cows are ill, pregnant or even which is the best moment/day to get more milk! Look at Silent Herdsman, as an example of it. It is a neck collar that tracks all cows activity, detecting changes in their behaviour, and data about their vital functions (such as eating or rumination). Or, really similar to that one, MooMonitor.
There are also some devices to control the stables’ temperature or humidity, to let the farm animals live in the best conditions possible. Trackers, thermostats… all can help in the improvement of their lives.
Wild Life
The preservation of the naturals spaces from all around the world is a topic that worries to most people. That’s the reason why some IoT companies have set out how they could use new technologies and devices, to help in it.
Internet of Things’ devices can help into this areas: tracking (as we have seen with dogs, but in this case would englobe most animals from around the world), make animals’ life safer and securer, monitorize and control their behaviour, be able to make medical diagnosis, etc.
This has motivated companies to protect, specially, endangered species. One example of this is the Elephant Tracking, which is a GPS elephant collar that works exactly as dogs one does. With it, to know exactly the position of these animals in real-time, is possible, so to rasterize and identify them in their wildlife has become a really easy task.
Why we post this? As you should know, thethings.iO is an Internet of Things Start-up. So, to imagine and create a cool device is your job, while ours is to connect it to the Internet. If you want to know more about the IoT world and thethings.iO stay tunned! And don’t forget to follow us on Twitter!
