It's easy to pamper your pet with some table scraps, a few extra treats, and a little too much dog food. Before long, your fit Fido has become a hefty hound. Fujitsu is looking to help dog owners fight the fat with a pedometer and cloud service system.
The Wandant pedometer is based on motion-tracking technology from Fujitsu Laboratories. It measures and records the steps your pooch takes, picks up shivering motions, and monitors temperature changes.
All that data gets uploaded to an accompanying cloud service so you can view graphs and reports on your dog's activities.
The Wandant sits on the dog's collar. The data is uploaded through a contactless connection to a smartphone or computer. For a more complete look at a dog's health, the owner can add information like weight, food serving sizes, and (yes) stool conditions.
Making a pedometer for dogs is a little more complicated than building one for humans. The Wandant has to take into account four legs and very different leg lengths. A three-way accelerometer helps it figure out what's going on as Mr. McFluffersons romps around the yard.
It's intended for use with dogs that are at least 6 months old and have legs of at least 6 inches in length. Sorry, miniature Chihuahuas, the Wandant is probably bigger than your head.
Pricing hasn't been announced yet, but each pedometer will come with a year of the cloud service included. After that, Fujitsu expects to charge about $5 per month for access.
The Wandant service is only available in Japan as of right now. I knew Japan had the market cornered on cute animals, but I didn't know there was a problem with fat pets. Obese animals is a pretty serious issue over here in the U.S. Maybe Fujitsu will look at expanding the service soon.
(Via Far East Gizmos)