The internet of everything (your pet eats and drinks)
Obe aims to improve the health of dogs and cats, one perfectly portioned ProBowl of food and water at a time.
All images courtesy of Obe.Humans have a hard time figuring out how much food and water they need to give themselves, so it's hardly surprising that they're equally unsure as to how much their pets need.
Obe ProBowl and its companion smartphone app eliminate the guesswork by using veterinarian-recommended feeding standards and the dog's size, age and activity level to determine appropriate meal sizes.
The smart base weighs and measures the food as the bowl is filled and glows when the proper amount is reached-an amount that automatically updates based on the dog's metabolism and activity level.
The free app provides real-time updates on how much the dog has consumed and gives feeding reminders. It can also be programmed to automatically reorder food from Amazon based on how much the dog is eating. If anything out of the ordinary occurs, it sends out an alert, and the data can be shared with the dog's veterinarian at any time.
One of Obe's developers, Ernie Ward, DVM, explains why all of this is important. “Our studies have shown that pet parents consistently overfeed their pets by at least 10% a day. Over a year that adds up to one to three pounds of weight gain,” he says.
“Healthy feeding is just the beginning of what Obe has planned,” Ernie continues. “My goal is to use the future ProBowl suite of technologies to combat pet obesity and extend life expectancy.”
Obe has also designed a ProBowl for Cats that will be available soon. While it shares the same features and functions as the bowl designed for dogs, it is shallow and wide to avoid irritating whiskers.
Nitty gritty
You can pre-order one ProBowl for Dogs for the early bird price of $109, or two bowls for $169. Shipping is planned for this fall.
The dog bowl comes in three sizes:
Small: 7.8 x 2.5 in
Medium: 8 x 3 in
Large: 8.6 x 4 in
It is constructed of food grade plastic and is safe for both the dishwasher and microwave.
The ProBowl works with all types of food (wet, dry, raw, freeze-dried) and water.
The smart base runs on four AA batteries (included).
Works with iOS 8 or later, and with iPhone models 5 and up.
