Puppy project on Kickstarter plays fetch with digital dogs

Pet gadgets are about to get really interesting, what with the interactive cat monitor on Kickstarter, as well as this doozy of a device, made for dogs who like to have fun.

Another project landing on the popular crowd-funding website that is Kickstarter, CleverPet is a concept aimed to keep your dog happy, giving it something to do when you’re not patting it, throwing the ball, or telling it that it shouldn’t have chewed your shoes and now look at what you have to wear to that big thing tonight.

We’re getting off topic.

The concept for CleverPet is one of entertainment, and that being how to keep your dog stimulated. Essentially, the result is a game console made for dogs.

To make this happen, the console has to be pretty basic, and as such, it’s kind of like the old Simon electronic board game in that it asks dogs to hit big buttons as they light up, with each correct answer providing a treat.

Dogs won’t start with the full game, mind you, and will instead be able to poke the buttons and get the game to give it a reward, but the more the pooch is drawn in to play, the more CleverPet will respond, playing with them more and encouraging them to play with it with the promise of more treats.

You can also record your voice and let the CleverPet system play it back, so the reward isn’t just the treat, but also you congratulating the dog when they get it right, with other examples of voice telling your best friend where to put their paws.

Cloud connections make it possible for you to see how your dog is going, and given how many of us have always wanted to know whether our dogs were smart or, well, not smart, this should help.

One area it won’t help, though, is with multiple dogs, with CleverPet telling us that its system was primarily designed for one dog, since it will grow and interact with that one animal. Two can work, but the system is learning and responding to only one animal, since it doesn’t have the ability to discern the difference between your JackChi and your Chihuahua.

Pricing for the CleverPet looks to be just under $300 USD when it launches for real next year, though with the project seeking funding on Kickstarter first, devices are being sold for under $200 (before shipping) for people who back the concept.