Website lets you vicariously play with kittens through Internet-connected cat toys

Teetering on the brink of cliché, cats are an Internet trope that we’ve all been acquainted with at some point in the history of our online usage. I would even argue that silly videos of our feline compatriots horsing around are a collective staple of worldwide procrastination habits. And now, the cat-induced habit is about to get a whole lot worse (or better): US tech firm Reach-In has developed a robotic cat toy that allows users to play with cats through the Internet. 
 
Dubbed the iPet Companion, the device enables users to operate a series of Internet-connected cat toys through a webpage  app. The toys, which are mounted on pistons, can be moved around at the user’s behest while a built-in camera lets them observe the cats in action or take screenshots. There’s even a built-in social media network currently inhabited by 11,000 users, where screenshots or outside pet pictures can be exchanged.

The brilliant scheme has been implemented across nine animal shelters in the United States thus far, including Idaho Humane Society, Pawmetto Lifeline South Carolina, and the Animal Rescue League of Iowa. Users simply select their shelter, log on, and wait in queue until it’s their turn to man the controls for a period of two minutes. 

Interestingly, for a company whose device adheres to the mission of “ending homelessness of animals nationwide,” the iPet’s development was sheer coincidence. Scott Harris, the Idaho-based company’s founder, explains that his team initially set out to create an IoT application that allows engineers to remotely inspect and repair equipment using robots, but a chance encounter with a developer’s cat inspired an alternative use.

“One of our engineers was testing a remotely-controlled piston at his home found that the movement of the robotic arm got his cat's attention,” Harris explained to the BBC, “[and] as the engineer actuated the piston from the web, the cat would jump and play with the moving parts. It enticed them both so much that he ended up playing with his cat most of the day (and finished almost none of his work).” The story of animal’s response amused Harris just so, that he contacted his local animal shelter and talked them into letting his firm outfit their shelter with the equipment.
 
Four years later and the participating shelters have seen an up to a 295 percent increase in animal sponsorships, 67 percent increase in kitten adoptions, and 52 percent traffic increase. 

Source: BBC