Sony makes Tweeting device for cats

Sony Computer Science Laboratories has created a device that detects cats' activities and Tweets them. Using a camera, an acceleration sensor, and GPS, it keeps track of the cats movements, tracking basic activities like eating, sleeping, walking, and playing with other cats. It then sends one of 11 set text messages via bluetooth to a computer and posts it to the cat's Twitter feed.

Sony makes cats tweet with wearable lifelogging device [Tech-On]

• [eccentriffic]

  Definitely getting one for my cats. Now I’ll know who shredded the toilet paper!

• [David Pescovitz]

  Mattel hit the pet twitter niche first with Puppy Tweets!

• [Brainspore]

  “Mittens is trying to claw off her tweeting collar.”
  “Mittens is trying to claw off her tweeting collar.”
  “Mittens is trying to claw off her tweeting collar.”
  “Mittens is trying to claw off her tweeting collar.”
  “Mittens is trying to claw off her tweeting collar.”
  “Mittens is trying to claw off her tweeting collar.”

• [Ugly Canuck]

  Next: Sony’s plans for getting birds to meow.

• [snej]

  This reminds me of an old (1980s?) Roz Chast cartoon about a cat’s diary: “June 1st. Washed myself. Walked around the house. Had some food in a bowl, yum! Took a nap.”

• [Binnorie]

  If I were to bell my cat with this device, she would treat it like a small rodent and leave its remains on my bed along with a poop. Nice idea, though.

• [Von Haus]

  “Fluffy is licking himself.”

  “Fluffy is licking himself.”

  “Fluffy is torturing a small rodent to death.”

  “Fluffy is licking himself.”

  I love my cats, but seriously??

  Now a wireless tracking device on cats, that would be useful. Though i’m not a fan of collars; leading to the problem of how to join it to them. Also for the record I have never owned a cat called Fluffy.

  • [eccentriffic]

    You can almost do this already with microchips, which allow lost cats to be identified by scanning a microchip that’s implanted under their skin. I doubt it would take much more to make a microchip into a tracker.

• [bluehenbear]

  http://icanhascheezburger.files.wordpress.com/2008/05/funny-pictures-orange-cat-poop-outside-window.jpg

• [pixleshifter]

  This reminded me of seeing a website several years ago where a guy put a webcam on his cat, Mr Lee.
  Seems he’s updated his site and loads of other cats now have their own cat-cam.

• [Itsumishi]

  Furthermore, the device has a function to recognize other cats’ faces taken by the camera embedded in the device. Sony CSL realized this function by using the facial images of several thousands of cats that are available on the Internet as reference data.

  Sony are obviously using a much smaller internet than I do.

  “Ziggy is knocking things off the bench to get Julian out of bed to feed him”.

  “Oops! That glass just shattered all over the floor!”

• [InsertFingerHere]

  “Molly is having her litter under your neighbor’s front porch.”

  “Molly is sleeping under your car hood for warmth”

  “Molly is dead”

  Assuming Molly comes within range of my bluetooth of course, otherwise this device will need something like a really strong wifi.

• [C White]

  Is there not a better use of engineer’s time? Here’s hoping they don’t sell a single one.

  • [Ugly Canuck]

    No. No there isn’t.

• [Anonymous]

  I remember this being posted a while ago: http://boingboing.net/2007/06/06/cat-has-camera-on-co.html

• [Rob Beschizza]

  This is the Sony I love. Now, how about that tablet.

• [Anonymous]

  Tweet #101: Cuddles is murdering her owner as he sleeps, for insulting her feline dignity with a giant neck-box.

  Tweet #102: Screaming detected.

• [RevEng]

  For the cat owner who just had to know what his cat does when he’s not at home (easy: he’s sleeping on the couch).

• [HatOfEdshu]

  “There’s no indication users would want a Sony tablet, but everyone knows Silvester wants Tweetie.”

• [joelf]

  My xbox has been tweeting for about a year now. I’m glad to see that animals are now given the chance. The internet is becoming a cluttered, but fun place.