IoT in Pet Tech

The global pet population combined with an increasingly young, tech-literate demographic of pet owners is leading to a rise of a new industry called Pet tech. We are already witnessing the role of AI and IoT in building smart homes, smart cars, and smart cities. Just like these, the technology behind Industry 4.0 has put emphasis on building smart pet tech and has paved the way for innovation in pet care. As per a survey, 56% of pet parents have a dedicated tech to look after their pets and to keep them safer and healthier.

Nothing is more important for pet owners than their pet’s health. Anyone who owns a pet will often have a few questions running through their mind regarding their pet’s health, such as whether their pet is feeling comfortable or not, are they eating enough and healthy, etc. Today, with the help of technology, it has become quite convenient for owners to monitor their pet’s health and ensure they are getting the required treatment and care. That’s why it is no surprise to see pet tech applications currently on the boom. Here’s one of the pet care apps that we developed for our client.

If you are also looking to build a pet care app or in search of a petcare app development company for that matter, get in touch with us here. The expert software developers at Dew can help you with the desired solution that breathes life into your pet care idea.

How IoT is helping Pet Owners?

Tracking the pet’s health has long remained a challenge for pet owners. The two major concerns that pet owners usually have are their pet’s health and security. Reports in the past have suggested that millions of dogs and cats get lost or stolen every year while a huge number of them becoming overweight or obese.

The IoT industry is continuously working towards addressing the associated challenges and does seem to identify the solutions which can be of great help for pet owners. The solutions are similar to the way humans track their activity or health data through wearables. The same approach has been adopted for pets by the means of smart collars.

Monitoring the pet’s activity and wellness can help identify possible health conditions based on their sleeping patterns, eating habits, heart rate, etc. Speaking from the security point of view, a pet wearable adds a layer of security for the pets with an in-built GPS tracking system that keeps the pet owners unruffled even if the pet vanishes from their sight as the GPS system can track the location of the pet.

There are a few popular pet wearables or smart collars available in the market like FitBark, Waggit, and Whistle, while many other related products are being developed that are beneficial for pets as well as pet owners.

FitBark tracks your dog’s activity levels, quality of sleep, and overall health and behavior at all times. The device notifies you of anxiety or any skin diseases through changes in their regular behavior and sleeping patterns. You can also link it to your Fitbit, Apple HealthKit, or Google Fit device to track the progress side by side. The accumulated data can be shown to veterinarians, who can monitor orthopedic rehabilitation, osteoarthritis, or changes in mobility.

Another smart collar like Whistle leverages GPS technology to track your pet’s location anywhere in the U.S. on AT&T’s cellular network. It pushes location alerts if the pet leaves its safe place and can follow their past 24-hours location to see where they went and when. Apart from this, Whistle also tracks activities like playing, walking, and resting, which can offer significant insights into the overall health of your pet by analyzing the behavioral trends or changes.

In addition to these smart collars, there are dedicated pet cameras that do much beyond the ability to just video chat with your pet. The AI-driven device can detect emergencies by recognizing sounds from fire or carbon monoxide detectors and breaking glass. At times, when the pet has to be left alone reluctantly due to which they often suffer separation anxiety or start misbehaving, users can connect with their pets to put them at ease.

Pet Tech looks Promising!

Pets are an important part of the family. They deserve equal care and attention as much as humans do. People are emotionally attached to their pets and that is why they are willing to invest as much as they can to give their pets better healthcare, better security, and overall better comfort. Companies too are giving this industry segment more importance than ever and building products that can know retrieve more information about a pet’s wellbeing and giving pet owners peace of mind.

The app marketplace might not have plenty of pet healthcare apps currently but we can expect to see the numbers scaling up in the future. With advancements in IoT technology, it’s safe to say that the pet tech industry is surely going to get a huge boost in the upcoming years.