Fitbit for Dogs • Hacker News Board

Re: Fitbit for Dogs

#51

Post by cschneid » Wed, Jun 05, 2013, 5:49 PM UTC

swamp40 wrote: post #24

I follow activity monitors rather closely. The wifi connectivity is the most unusual part of this design. There's never been a nice, simple way to setup wifi from a small device before. The trick they are using here is to use the Bluetooth connection to setup the wifi. It's not a bad approach (in fact, they like it so much they're trying to patent it). But TI recently came out with the CC3000, a wifi chip that can gr…

The fitbit aria scale had a clever way to set itself up. As far as I could tell, it had my computer join a known network, and broadcast the SSID & Password that my computer already knew off to the scale. So the scale gets put in setup mode, and listens for that temp network.

At least that's what it appeared to be doing when I set it up....

Re: Fitbit for Dogs

#52

Post by btrautsc » Wed, Jun 05, 2013, 5:50 PM UTC

pdeuchler wrote: post #41

If you are a non-attentive, dis-interested pet owner you probably don't care enough to buy this. If you are attentive and interested in your pet this device tells you nothing new. Fitbit works because you can correlate the data to your personal well being. Unless this device magically discerns the dog's well being I don't see how it provides any actionable statistics.

I'm not quite as ready to jump into HN attack mode.I immediately wanted to buy and/or help this company somehow. I've literally stayed up worrying about my dog because of lack of intel. But you're right, the intel is not quite there (yet).

I have 2 chocolate labs, and immediately was thinking how amazing this is as one is getting older - however, I'd like to think I am an 'attentive' pet owner (if not over-attentive by my wife's standards).

Your point about what the device can/can't discern is important. That is where I hope to see this go. Unfortunately for pet owners, your dog often doesn't communicate with you very well regarding their health. Sure, weight is relatively easy to discern, as are superficial wounds. But infections, arthritis, skin/coat health - all could be studied to give an owner insight if it is time to visit the vet. Ala preventative medicine.

Too many times an unusual throw up, limp, sleepless night can cause a vet trip and be nothing, but even slight trends could tell you a lot about the dogs health.

Re: Fitbit for Dogs

#53

Post by gummadi » Wed, Jun 05, 2013, 5:55 PM UTC

slipperyp wrote: post #34

I look at this and think "finally, someone's found a way to capitalize on the disposable income of people whose homes are already full of exercise bikes being used as coat hangers and whose wrists are nearly ready to collapse under the weight of their fitbits, pedometers, and GPSes." Here's the secret to health and exercise: you have to want to do it. Another $100 device to tell you "you're still not doing the thing…

" I know people who ask "how can I run more?" and I ask "well, do you enjoy running?" and usually they say they don't. I don't tell them they need to buy different shoes or gadgets to try to coerce them into doing it, I suggest they look at other kinds of activities that will fulfill them and try to incorporate that into their life. "

Interesting! But isn't our natural tendency to be lazy, why would anyone prefer to stress themselves rather than sit infront of TV? Shouldn't we just continue running, irrespective of whether we enjoy it or not in the beginning, until we start enjoying it?

Re: Fitbit for Dogs

#54

Post by kmfrk » Wed, Jun 05, 2013, 5:57 PM UTC

pdeuchler wrote: post #49

danielpal wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Disagree 100%. Just pre-ordered one. I am a very attentive and interested dog owner. Here's what I'll get: 1. I pay a dog walker to exercise my dog every-day for 1 hour. I want to make sure he is actively walking and not just sitting around the park. 2. Dog Sleep: I want to keep a healthy sleep vs activity percentage. I think this is great. I love this trend of constantly tracking vs going to the vet every 6 months t…

Do you not trust your dog walker? That would be a problem this device cannot fix. I can tell the minute I get home if my dogs got a good walk or not. I'm also interested in how you plan on acting upon this new knowledge about your dog's sleeping habits.

I think it's pretty clear that there's a startup opportunity here.

"Uber for dogs".

DAE ...?

EDIT: FFS, I hate this world: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2013/4/prweb10677391.htm.

Re: Fitbit for Dogs

#55

Post by reeses » Wed, Jun 05, 2013, 6:03 PM UTC

btrautsc wrote: post #52

pdeuchler wrote: post #41

If you are a non-attentive, dis-interested pet owner you probably don't care enough to buy this. If you are attentive and interested in your pet this device tells you nothing new. Fitbit works because you can correlate the data to your personal well being. Unless this device magically discerns the dog's well being I don't see how it provides any actionable statistics.

I'm not quite as ready to jump into HN attack mode.I immediately wanted to buy and/or help this company somehow. I've literally stayed up worrying about my dog because of lack of intel. But you're right, the intel is not quite there (yet). I have 2 chocolate labs, and immediately was thinking how amazing this is as one is getting older - however, I'd like to think I am an 'attentive' pet owner (if not over-attentive…

There have been enough times that one of my pets has changed their behavior in a way I've only realized after a vet visit. Spending just a little more time on the couch, approaching something from only one side, peeing slightly more/less often than usual, etc., that would be nice to note as an opportunity to intervene preventatively.

It's clear when something is way off kilter, such as the dog peeing every five minutes or never getting off the couch, but by then you know the animal is acutely suffering.

My wife can tell me if her neck hurts. If she says it five times in a month, I can tell her that she may want to make an appointment with a doctor or see what has changed about her work/home environment.

It would be nice if I could get the same sort of signal for my dog. (And be able to tell my vet yes/no when they ask if anything has changed.)

Re: Fitbit for Dogs

#56

Post by mckilljoy » Wed, Jun 05, 2013, 6:05 PM UTC

This looks like the kind of product that will do well in San Francisco -- SF is where the venn diagram of "dog owners" and "gadget owners" overlap.

Re: Fitbit for Dogs

#57

Post by swamp40 » Wed, Jun 05, 2013, 6:07 PM UTC

joeblau wrote: post #27

victoknight wrote: post #17

Why no GPS integration? Would it affect the battery life to poorly?

I have a buddy that works at Garmin and from what I understand, GPS receivers are a huge battery drain and they are also pretty big/heavy in relation to other sensors. If you look at GPS running watches for instance, even the small ones are pretty beefy and they only last up to 8 hours while active.

Well, the way it would work (and I'm sure how the TAGG does it) would be to leave the GPS and cellular modem powered down most of the time.

But say once every 30 minutes, they would all power up, grab the GPS data, fire off an SMS message with the coordinates, then power back down again.

It's not perfect, but it's a good compromise.

Re: Fitbit for Dogs

#58

Post by sutro » Wed, Jun 05, 2013, 6:08 PM UTC

Will this tell me how many times per hour my dog licks his balls?

Re: Fitbit for Dogs

#59

Post by reeses » Wed, Jun 05, 2013, 6:09 PM UTC

hawkharris wrote: post #10

Honestly, I think this will benefit the owners as much as the dogs. My dog has tons of energy and potential to exercise, but usually the problem is that I don't have the energy or time to take him outside. I suspect that a major benefit of this product will be that it transforms owners' lifestyles, encouraging them to be more active and take breaks from being inside and/or online when necessary.

Doggie day care. It's the best thing you can do for them.

Yes, it's yuppie, but as with hiring housekeepers, it makes so many 'problems' go away.

My dogs love going to play with other dogs, toys, pools, fountains, and trained handlers, and they love coming home to play and run. They get to socialize and I still get a lot of quality time with them.

Re: Fitbit for Dogs

#60

Post by rschmitty » Wed, Jun 05, 2013, 6:19 PM UTC

Nifty, nice job! Does it work with horses?

I feel pretty in touch with my dogs since I work from home and provide their exercise...but I could see my wife wanting to see how the horse is doing since it is kept at stable and she can't make it out every day.

Also typically horse people are super rich (tho we are not) and already paying lots and lots on horse care, might be good to explore.

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