Anicall, a Japanese firm, has debuted an as yet unnamed pet translation device at the Wearable Expo in Tokyo. The collar, which will be available for both dogs and cats, analyzes 40 movements.
Billed as something like a pet telepathy machine, it actually just tells your in-the-immediate-vicinity smartphone whether the pet is excited or happy, relaxed, wanting to play, or annoyed. Takuya Fuma, a manager for the Anicall development unit, said that the company hopes to be able to increase the distance over which the device works. He added that it is a giant step for pet communications. “It’s possible you think pets are relaxed, Fuma said, “but actually they aren’t.”
The device will be available in April for 9,000 yen ($76). (The site is presumably informative if you read Japanese, which we do not. Other products seem to include locators for cows and racehorses.
In the meantime, here is our take, as longtime pet parents, on what your pets are thinking. Dogs are mainly thinking, “I love you! I love you! I love you! Look! A bunny!” Cats, on the other hand, are thinking in dark Hegelian sentences about world domination, which they know would be a sure thing if they had opposable thumbs. Until evolution catches up, they are content to let us feed them.
Or you can just wait until April, when there will be an app to let you know for sure.