Jan 22, 2009 8:38 am US/Eastern
Snif Tag Lets Owners Track Dogs The High-Tech Way
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) ―
How would you like to keep closer tabs on your dog? Well, new web-based technology makes it possible by monitoring your dog, even when you're not around.
As Indie moves around playing with her toy, her activity is captured in real time on a computer.
But when she decides to take a break, that is also monitored through a wireless device on her collar.
It's called Snif Tag, an invention from some dog-loving graduates of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
"You'll have this stream of data coming in about what your dog is doing and then it gets classified by software running on the tag," said Noah Paessel, Snif Tag inventor.
Here's how it works.
The sensor sends information back to the computer through a bay station. From there, it's transferred to your secured site. If the dog goes out of range, the data is loaded when the dog returns to the live zone. This is where the monitoring pays off.
"You can verify your dog is getting enough exercise and the kind of attention that he or she needs," Paessel said.
Let's say you use a dog-walking service. Snif Tag allows pet owners to confirm that your dog is really getting the exercise they are paying for. It's like a nanny cam without the nanny or the camera.
Veterinarian Kathyrn Gorski tried Snif Tag on her yellow lab Skiff. She thinks the information could be useful.
"For example, dog food recommendations are made for healthy active dogs, so if we can look at this and say, your dog really isn't as active as an average dog, then we can sometimes convince them to feed less food," Gorski said.
Snif Tag costs about $150, CBS station KYW-TV reported.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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