Whistle has produced a new device that's for the dogs. Literally.
The device, named Whistle, keeps track of a dog's health, and alerts dog owners to any potential problems with their dog well before they develop into a serious issue. Such advance warnings can give owners the push they need to take their dog to the vet's office or out for a walk.
"Dogs tend to hide their pain from you," CEO and co-founder Ben Jacobs said to GigaOm. "They will act how their owners want them to act. Dogs will run a marathon with their owners until their paws bleed. That's not an indication of health. That's an indication of loyalty."
The device itself, according to PC Mag, is a solid puck with a ring of LED indicators and a plastic base. It's waterproof, equipped with Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, and a variety of sensors. The device can easily be removed from your dog's collar strap for charging and can sync to both mobile and web-based clients.
The device not only keeps track of your dog's health, but its movement as well by tracking whether the device is using your home Wi-Fi or following you out of the house by picking up on your phone's bluetooth signal. The device can also tell if you're playing or exercising with your dog, provided you keep your phone with you while you go jogging.
All of this data is rounded up and deposited on the cloud, where it's then compared to data on dog health produced by veterinary schools. The cloud data will give dog owners their pet's optimal weight and activity levels, which owners can then compare to their pet's actual weight and activity.
Whistle also tracks what a dog does on its own time, away from its owner. According to PC Mag, a dog acts differently depending on whether it's with its owner or on its own. Whistle can, over time, tell the difference between the two states, and will collect that data so researchers can look into how pets behave when human presence is absent.
Whistle also, of course, makes this data freely available to owners.
Whistle is currently available through its website for $99.95, though plans to bring the device to chain stores is in the works.
