Similar to the Pintofeed remote pet feeder that lets pet owners feed their pet via smartphone, the Judd Treat Machine from the NYC CNC Machining & Prototype Shop lets people remotely dispense doggie treats from anywhere they can find an internet connection. The do-it-yourself Raspberry Pi-based device doles out the goodies whenever the pooch gets an email.
The inventor named the Judd Treat Machine after his dog, who is the lucky recipient of the goodies dispensed by the machine. When Judd receives an email, it sets the device in motion. The machine signals Judd by wiggling a little hopper into which the treats are dispensed before rotating and dumping the treats on the floor. As an added feature, the machine takes a picture of Judd and sends it back to the email sender as a thank you.
Built using skills in CAD, machining, fabrication, powder coating, Raspberry Pi, electrical engineering and programming, the project is open source with Python code available on the NYC CNC Machining & Prototype Shop website and the CAD model soon to follow.
The biggest risk we can see is the dog becoming more attached to the machine than its owner – that and the possibility of Judd stacking on the pounds after getting inundated with emails from around the world.
Even though Judd's owner says the dog runs anywhere from five to 30 miles (8 to 48 km) a week and is unlikely to get fat, the fact that Google temporarily disabled the original juddwouldlikeatreat@gmail.com email address due to high volume suggests Judd might need to extend his exercise routine. A new email address has been set up (juddwouldlikeatreat@gmail.com) for those who'd like to send a treat Judd's way.
The video below shows how the machine dispenses treats to Judd.
Source: NYC CNC Machining & Prototype Shop via Lifehacker
