As dog lovers are all too aware, man’s best friend is subject to many of the health issues which plague us humans. However, a new canine-oriented and cloud-integrated pedometer launched by Fujitsu promises to help monitor your dog’s weight and general health.
Deriving its name from a combination of the colloquial Japanese word for dog and the English word pendant, Fujitsu reckons the Wandant to be the first automatic pedometer designed specifically for dogs on the market.
Wandant uses a three-axis accelerometer to measure a dog’s steps and work out how much exercise the pooch in question is getting, while shivering and temperature changes are also duly noted. The resulting data can be transferred to PC or an Android smartphone via NFC chip and then uploaded to a cloud-integrated database.
Owners may add additional information, including food volume, current weight, and details on the dog’s stool – all of which combined should give a better picture of the dog’s health. Interestingly, Fujitsu states that in the future, data collected will be shared with veterinarians and research institutions, and the company expects to expand the device's features based on these findings.
Wandant measures 46 x 28.4 x 12.5 mm (1.8 x 1.1 x 0.5 inches) and weighs 16 grams (0.5 ounce). The battery should be good for around four months, and there’s enough on-board storage to log up to 14 days worth of data.
At present, the Wandant is available in Japan only, and there's no word on price. However, Fujitsu did state that one year’s subscription to the cloud service is included with purchase, and after this grace period, it’ll cost ¥420 a month (US$5) to subscribe.