From IoT to IoP: The Internet Of Pet (Food)

Pet owners, rejoice! Soon, you may own a pet food bowl — integrated with Internet of Things (IoT) technology and Amazon’s Dash Replenishment Service (DRS) — that will automatically reorder dog or cat food. Pet owners may not have to worry about running out of pet food ever again.

So says Obe, a San Francisco-based startup, whose ProBowl, a new IoT-enabled device, can track supplies and reorder food. The IoT-enabled device is slated for release in September. Obe is taking preorders for the pet bowls on its website.

ProBowl comes in three sizes for dogs and a small size for cats, features a smart base that connects with Wi-Fi, and has a built-in scale that measures food and water. When the bowl is filled with an appropriate amount of food, it lights up. If too much food is dispensed, ProBowl notifies the caretaker.

For August’s Internet of Things Tracker, PYMNTS caught up with Hilary Jensen Wade, co-founder and CEO of Obe, to talk about how her company partnered with Amazon with an eye on improving Obe’s product.

Here’s a sneak peek:

Pet owners can decide what notifications they want to have sent to their mobile devices with updates on whether the dog or cat needs to be fed by downloading the smart iOS app.

“The amount of time that people spend worrying and actively communicating about whether the dog or cat is being taken care of and fed is substantial,” Wade said. “The dog may play the ‘I haven’t been fed’ game and try to work you over. We have taken care of that by pressing the button on the bowl, and you’ll know if the dog has been fed because the bowl lights up red. If the light is green, you can go ahead and feed them.”

By monitoring a pet’s consumption behavior, Wade said the ProBowl can serve as an early warning to pet owners that something may be amiss with their dog or cat. She says that Obe supplies health-related recommendations — not solutions — which can be shared with a veterinarian, so a trip to the vet’s office is still necessary.

News Highlights From The IoT World

While Obe prepares for the release of the Pro Bowl next month, other companies have recently introduced their innovative products and services to the marketplace.

Wilson Sporting Goods has entered the IoT playing field with its release of a technologically inspired football that can track a wide range of data, including how far it has been thrown and whether the person on the receiving end caught or dropped the pass. The football also measures velocity, spin rate and spiral efficiency.

Meanwhile, Nokia Technologies and Withings worked together on Thermo, a recently launched app-based Wi-Fi personal thermometer. Thermo is the first non-intrusive thermometer with the ability to connect to the internet, and it can get a temperature reading by closely scanning someone’s skin.

Amazon was busy with its recent IoT endeavors, which included receiving a patent for smart headphones and launching the Dash Wand, a grocery ordering device, in the U.K. The headphones feature noise-canceling functionality when a distinct sound is heard.

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