Need to go on vacation and have no one to take care of your dog? No worries, as you can have remote access to your dog and see that he/she is fed and cared for, with the new iCPooch device. Designed by 14-year-old Brooke Martin, the device lets you video chat with your dog and deliver dog treats through a mobile command. All you need is a smartphone with a front camera. Download the app, iCPooch, and sync it with your tablet or smartphone.
The device is user-friendly and pet-friendly and looks like a small box. It has a lever that will enable you to deliver a snack to your pet. A built-in computer connects to the app or a web browser through your home router. You can give the start-up command through the app and the tablet/smartphone you have connected to the device will automatically get switched on. It will immediately alert your dog and dispense a biscuit with the help of the ‘drop cookie’ button. According to Techcrunch.com, iCPooch was funded through Kickstarter.com (www.kickstarter.com/projects/icpooch/icpooch-internet-pet-treat-delivery-and-video-chat), where Brooke was seeking funds to turn the prototype into an actual device that would help dog lovers. She raised a total of $29,706 (approx over `18 lakh) last March and she is now selling iCPooch devices online.
Kickstarter.com says, “The design of our controller board is complete and we should have prototypes ready for testing by the middle of February.”
Brooke first came up with the this idea when she saw her dog suffer from separation anxiety as everyone was busy with work and school and there wasn’t much time to hang out at home anymore. In 2012, she pitched this idea at the Startup Weekend Spokane Competition. “I wanted a way to maintain some contact with the dog, when I was out and about,” she says on techcrunch.com.
She then filed for a patent in 2013 and secured her initial investment. It was then she was selected as one of the finalists of Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge! October 2013 Competition and adjudged the first runner-up.
After winning the competition, she took up work on iCPooch seriously and decided to convert it into a product for the market. There is now a team of professionals working on manufacturing and selling the product. With Brooke credited as the inventor and spokesperson, her father Chris Martin acts as the founder and COO of iCPooch.kaviya@newindianexpress.com