The Internet of Things is coming for all of us, but it’s also coming for our pets. The most obvious reason to strap a piece of technology to your beloved cat or dog is to track them down if they run away, but WÜF takes things a few steps further.
WÜF is a smart dog collar with built-in GPS and two-way audio that lets you talk to your pet even when you’re not around. It promises to come packed with tons of features as well, including a digital leash, activity monitoring, and a smartphone app that ties it all together.
The device itself is sleek and simple, though it a bit bigger than one other smart pet tracker we recently covered. It’s also waterproof, shockproof and should hold up to pretty much anything your dog can throw at it. The internal hardware pops out easily, but otherwise it’s well protected by a soft durable outer shell.
Under the hood, WÜF sports a SIM card, GPS antenna, a low-power processor, a speaker, a microphone, flash memory, an accelerometer and Bluetooth Low Energy. The current design also packs a five-day battery, though the company hopes to offer a wireless charging solution so it never has to come off.
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You can pre-order WÜF for $99 in grey, $149 for a Kickstarter-exclusive orange version, or $299 for two units in whichever color you want. You can also buy a 10-pack for $900. All order ship in Nov. 2015, though $5000 will get you a personally designed WÜF a few months early.
As an extra bonus, WÜF is offering a one year Premium subscription for Kickstarter backers, which should cover everything from GPS service to special dog training programs. The company has a ton of great ideas—some of which are still coming together—but the most exciting feature is that built-in walkie talkie.
Not only can you call your dog to say hello, but WÜF will actually monitor your pet and let you know if they start to cry or bark. Each collar will come with $10 of GSM credit, which gets used whenever you call your dog. Once that runs out you’ll be able to pay for more credit on your own as you go along.
Overall, WÜF sounds like an amazing product with tons of potential, though we’re a bit worried the company won’t be able to deliver every single feature promised on Kickstarter. Still, if you’re willing to join in the adventure now’s your chance. If not, it may be worth waiting a few years until the growing market of smart pet trackers can really figure itself out.
