Far beyond tennis balls

6th January 2016

Enaie Azambuja

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CleverPet is a games console for dogs. Because, as its creators explain, dogs need entertaining too. CleverPet co-founder Leo Trottier, who has a PhD in cognitive science from University of California, San Diego, alleges that the system is an ideal replacement for 'doggy day care', or a less extreme option for people worried about their dogs getting bored when home alone. "Our customer base has literally nothing better to do with their time," he jokes.

"Most of us would never leave a family member at home all day and ask them to sleep the whole time," explains Trottier during a startup pitch session at CES 2016.

"Right now, people cope by leaving the TV or radio on and crossing their fingers," says Trottier. But, he adds, "a dog with a job is a happy dog".

The CleverPet Hub is a plastic dome with flashing lights, speakers and a dispenser that gives out dry dog food when a task is completed successfully. Trottier describes the system as "automatic, all day interaction at scale, powered by software".

Games available include 'catch the squirrel', a light chasing game that challenges a dog to put its paw on the flashing light in time and 'pattern plan', which challenges dogs to learn increasingly complex light patterns.

Trottier explains that it is compatible with any kind of dry dog food. Open the hatch, put in the food, setup the game and entertain a dog for hours. For pet owners, the system gives a controlled way to dole out food throughout the day and keep tabs on what their pet is up to through a mobile app.

The idea debuted on Kickstarter back in 2014, raising about £122,000, £54,000 more than its goal. Two years later, and with more than 1,000 happy Kickstarter customers, it is ready for public pre-order. The CleverPut Hub will retail for about £200 and the company plans to ship the first units in the next couple of months.

Considering that my dog's mental abilities are close to a human child of about age 2, I will probably stick with tennis balls, frisbees, and his favourite Mexican soap opera, before attempting to extend his attention span.