Dog Phone Invented by Glasgow University

A scientist from Glasgow University has launched a phone that your pets can use to call you.

05:39 19 November 2021

A scientist from Glasgow University has invented a dog phone that allows you to video call your pet. 

 

Dr. Ilyena Hirskyj-Douglas collaborated with colleagues from Aalto University in Finland to develop the device so her 10-year-old labrador, Zack, can communicate with her whenever she's not at home through an internet-connected accelometre concealed inside a ball. 

 

Dubbed as DogPhone, the system is the first of its kind to empower animals to use the internet to contact their owners. 

 

Dr Hirskyj-Douglas said: “There are hundreds of internet-connected ‘smart toys’ on the market that dog owners can buy for their pets, from fitness monitors to remotely-controlled treat dispensers. Smart toys for pets are expected to be a 20 billion dollar industry by 2025.

 

“However, the vast majority of them are built with the needs of dog owners in mind, allowing them to observe or interact with their pets while away from home. Very few of them seem to consider what dogs themselves might want, or how technology might benefit them as living beings with thoughts and feelings of their own.

 

“What I wanted to do with DogPhone was find a way to turn Zack from a ‘usee’ of technology, where he has no choice or control over how he interacts with devices, into a ‘user’, where he could make active decisions about when, where, and how he placed a call.”