FitBark keeps an eye on your dog's health
This collar-mounted canine activity tracker aims to get lazy dogs up and running.
LAS VEGAS -- At the 2015 International CES we've seen a few GPS pet trackers, but what if you're more worried about your dog's health than its location?
FitBark is an activity monitor specifically designed for pups of all sizes with a detailed app that helps you monitor and track the activity and rest patterns of your dog.
The device itself is a collar-mounted accelerometer and measures 44x28x11mm (1.6x1.1x0.4 inches) and is extremely light -- just 8g (0.3oz). The FitBark is designed to clip on to an existing collar and the maker claims that you'll get up to two weeks battery life from a single charge. Data syncs back to the app using Bluetooth LE. It comes in blue, pink, green, grey or red.
The app -- which will be available on both iOS and Android -- calculates your dog's activity requirements based on not only age and weight, but also based on what's considered healthy for that particular breed. The app then gives you a 'Bark Point' goal that takes into account play time, active time and rest time. The data can be broken down in a number of charts and viewed over time to look at changes, much like a human fitness tracker does. People with an extended furry family can even have different profiles for all their dogs.
FitBark told us that the app was designed in consultation with vets and the company will offer a FitBark for Businesses web portal that's actually designed for pet care professionals to be able to access the data from any FitBark using patients in their care.
The other device that FitBark had on display at CES 2015 was the kennel-shaped Wi-Fi bay station. When added to a wireless network, this will sync the data of any FitBark in range, meaning you could be at work and still check in on the activity level of your house-bound dog. FitBark are marketing the kennel to "doggy day care" style businesses as well, so customers can keep an eye on how their dog is doing during the day.
The FitBark is available for pre-order now, for $99 (AU$120/£65) and $79 for the bay station (AU$99/£50). Kickstarter pre-orders will be shipped this month, with general orders coming around February. The Android mobile app will be available in March and FitBark says that the business web portal will be up and running by April of this year.