Invoxia's Smart Dog Collar will debut at CES 2022, and it looks like it could be a genuine leap forward in monitoring pet health.
Able to track both respiratory and heart rates, it's essentially an Apple Watch device made for dogs, and will be available to purchase sometime in mid-2022 for $99 (around £75 / AU$140) – certainly for the US, but likely with the UK and Europe to follow. An additional $12.99 per month subscription (around £10 / AU$18) is required to access the collar's GPS features.
As reported by The Verge, Invoxia's efforts are obviously far from the first canine fitness tracker to hit the market, but the company's smart dog collar offers a change from the norm that could represent a step forward for the smart pet device industry in general.
First and foremost, Invoxia's smart dog collar differs from its competitors that typically operate on a mixture of GPS sensors and accelerometers to track pet health, much like the best smartwatch devices that we humans make use of.
Instead, Invoxia has partnered with veterinary cardiologists to develop a deep learning AI for its smart dog collar that makes use of miniaturized radar sensors. Invoxia CEO Amélie Caudron told the Verge that these sensors were especially ideal as they can take readings regardless of how hairy your dog is.
"There’s a radar that faces the neck and sends a radio signal, and that signal will not be reflected by the hair," said Caudron. "So it doesn’t matter how much fur or hair there is, it’ll be reflected by the first layer of skin. So the radar will actually be able to know the speed and movement of the skin right under the collar."
Caudron also notes that your doggy shouldn't mind wearing the collar, as it fits loosely and comfortably around their neck, ditching the tight fit of typical smart tracker devices.
Pet care
Additionally, Invoxia's smart dog collar can act as a GPS and activity tracker, so in the undoubtedly stressful event that your pet goes missing, their location should be trackable, likely via a companion app.
We've got many pet lovers on the team here at TechRadar, so we're always happy to see advancements in smart pet health monitoring, and Invoxia's smart dog collar could be the most robust option yet. Keeping an eye on your pet's health can be a tricky endeavor, especially as complications can often arise post surgery or with certain types of medication, for example.
Smart collars like this can also help in tracking anomalies with a pet's respiratory health or heart rates, allowing owners to act much faster should irregularities arise. Caudron notes that without tech like Invoxia's smart collar, owners may detect problems too late – and we're all for tech that helps our animals live longer, healthier lives.
- Top pet trackers for keeping tabs on your furry friends
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