More for your money

I was thinking about the ways my "pet locator" application could be used aside from the obvious, and realized there are a few ways mobile device users might want to utilize the functionality.

For example, it would be useful to have all the pets details stored somewhere easily accessible. Their health records, food likes and dislikes, pet identification microchip number, etc. Also a calendar just for them, where you can add the dates of vet visits, when medication needs to start and stop, when shots are due, etc etc. And what adoring owner doesn't like to share pictures of their pet? An image gallery would be ideal, allowing you to store and share photos with other people.

I want this application to be practial, helpful and fun - not just useful in an emergency.

Cats don't need watches

So it seems I've been thinking about this project too much - last night I dreamt I was strapping wrist watches around cats' necks, then worrying that the watch would get lost when they went outside!
I reckon it's my subconscious telling me not to include a time-telling functionality in my device!

Still here...

It's been a woefully long time since my last post and I have no real excuse for my absence. However, I have been thinking about my final project idea - a device that tells a person, on demand, where their pet is at that time.
My classmate Ed told me the story of his cat who was "rescued" by a well-meaning stranger who thought he was a stray. She scooped him up and took him to her home, where she kept him for a few weeks before feeling bad about it, and started advertising that she'd found a cat.
Long story short, quite by chance Ed and his cat were reunited. But it struck me that the most proactive thing he could do was put the word out that his cat was lost. This is hugely frustrating for owners of lost pets. A device that could tell you were your cat was would save a lot of heartache.
When a pet gets lost people search far and wide, and often the pet is found very close to where they were last seen. It would be great to call up the info from a tracking device and be told where they were exactly.

A little off topic but...

I was amazed to learn that the UK has passed a law making it illegal to eat or smoke while driving a car. It's long been illegal to drive and talk on the phone (if holding the handset at the same time), but people still do it, much like they do in the US. I'm not a smoker but I wouldn't have thought smoking a cigarette would distract a driver as much as talking or texting, or even eating. I wonder if the same will happen in the US. Drive-thru restaurants might see a drop in business!

Taking it further

I was thinking about what else I would like to be able to do with my mobile phone, apart from be able to use it to locate lost pets.
One of my cats has been sick for a while, and it would be great if I could check on him during the day when I was away from the house. I know people have set up web cams in their homes to check on pets from their computers, but what if you could do this from your phone? Maybe a small camera in every room, that you could move remotely from your phone, like a CCTV system. That way you could see when they were eating, if they'd moved around at all, etc.
This would be a great element to add to a device that could track pets. Almost an all-in-one pet sitter.

Finding lost pets

Researching the subject of my final project - using GPS to find lost pets - I came across this site: http://globalpetfinder.com/

This company sells GPS devices you can attach to your dogs' collar, warning you when they've gone beyond the pre-defined "safe" zone. The owner is alerted by text and email, telling them where the dog is.

It seems to be a good product, effective and easily useable. The devices are suitable for bigger dogs, but what about smaller dogs, and cats? And what happens if the collar comes off, or the animal is lost for hours or days and the batteries run out? What happens if the animal is stolen and taken out of range of the GPS? These are things I need to consider for the product I'd like to design for my final project.

Take me to my vehicle

Crossing the parking lot after class today I headed to the area I had left my car in, but I was uncertain as to the exact spot. I would like a device that would "talk me in" to my car, like playing the "you're getting hotter... colder..." game, guiding me straight to it. This would save time and frustration, and the need to store important-but-dull information in my already crowded head.

When my friend can't find her car in a busy parking lot, she presses the panic button on her key fob and looks for the flashing, noisy car. That's one way to do it, but a less obtrusive solution would be better.