My daughter’s cat, Bisous (that is French for “kisses”) lurks by the entrance door morning, midday, and night time.
She is determined to be outdoors, nevertheless it’s not protected for her as a result of we dwell in a spot the place coyotes additionally lurk morning, midday, and night time.
We do our very best to maintain her inside, however she has escaped a few occasions, and her absence induced absolute panic.
Sure, she is microchipped, however that will solely assist if she ended up at animal management. The chip does us no good when she is on an unauthorized neighborhood walkabout.
She has returned from her adventures unhurt thus far, however our earlier cat was not so fortunate, which is why we fear.
Now we’ve got an choice that may give us peace of thoughts: A GPS tracker made for naughty pets like Bisous.
The tech firm with a preferred location-tracking app utilized by anxious dad and mom of youngsters now has an answer to assist anxious pet dad and mom like me.
People love their pets: The pet care business is huge, with a projected $157 billion in income for 2025.
Shutterstock-Mariya Kuzema
A pivot into pet security
Life360 (LIF) is entering into pet tech with a brand new GPS tracker constructed for canine and cats.
The corporate, finest identified for its family-safety app and gadget ecosystem, is launching “PetGPS” — a collar or harness attachment designed particularly for monitoring cats and canine.
The transfer isn’t random. After buying Tile in 2021 (which supplies item-finding tech and is beloved by car-key-losing of us all over the place), the corporate says this launch is a pure extension of its monitoring experience.
“Life360 has always been about keeping families safe and connected. With the release of PetGPS, we’re expanding our impact to cover more families in more ways,” Life360 CEO Lauren Antonoff instructed TheStreet.
“Now, when you open Life360, you can see every member of the family, even the furry ones, on the same map. This is a key step in our evolution into the Family Super App,” she mentioned.
Why this pet tracker issues
The corporate says its new merchandise permit pet house owners to “Track your favorite escape artist. See their location right on your Life360 map.”
Right here’s what stands out:
- Actual-time location updates, because of a mixture of mobile, GPS, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth indicators.
- Digital “safe zones” (geofences) so house owners obtain alerts if the pet leaves the designated space.
- Constructed-in neighborhood finder: In case your pet goes lacking, you may ship a lost-pet alert inside Life360’s community of greater than 88 million members.
- Sturdy design: IP68 score (water-, dust- and even pet-bite resistant), battery lifetime of as much as 14 days usually, and as much as six months in a “Bluetooth Reserve Mode.”
In brief, in the event you’ve ever fearful about shedding your pet like I’ve, this tracker is constructed to assuage that worry.
Enterprise technique meets market actuality
From a enterprise perspective, Life360’s launch is wise. The pet-care market is huge — a projected $157 billion and rising, in line with the American Pet Merchandise Affiliation — and house owners are more and more spending on “smart” gadgets for animal security and wellness.
By leveraging its present monitoring platform, Life360 enters this market with out ranging from scratch.
By offering each {hardware} and software program companies, Life360 additionally builds a recurring income stream.
What pet house owners must learn about PetGPS:
When you’re a canine or cat proprietor:
- Verify whether or not the gadget helps your area (the tech is supported at present within the U.S., UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand).
- The gadget prices $49.99 and activation for the primary gadget is free, so long as you’ve a Life360 Gold or Platinum subscription ($12.49/$20.83 per 30 days).
- Take into account whether or not neighborhood monitoring appeals to you (some house owners might have privateness/tethering issues).
The “worst nightmare” for a lot of pet house owners is shedding their companion — whether or not the animals bolts out the door, digs underneath a fence, or jumps over one.
The Life360 PetGPS cannot include each “Houndini” and doesn’t remove each threat, however it may possibly assist.
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