Click for the obligatory cute puppy video.
An electronic game for dogs won top honors yesterday at the Showstoppers Launchit competition for startups at CES. Cleverpet is basically a canine version of the old Simon game combined with an automated feeding station that dispenses a little bit of food when the dog hits the correct lighted pad. It gives dogs something to do when they’re locked up in an apartment all day while the rest of the family is at work.
“A dog with a job is a happy dog”, said Leo Trottier, Cleverpet’s CEO during his lightning pitch to the judges. “Our user base literally has nothing better to do with their time”.
The plan is to turn the feeding station into a hub, with monitoring capabilities for anxious pet owners and different activities scattered throughout the house, so the dog gets some exercise out of it.
Second place went to Sevenhugs, a French company that produces a universal, location aware remote control. You point it at what you want to operate – a television set or Nest thermostat, say – and it automagically knows what to do. You could even set it up so that if you point it at a window, it’ll give you a weather update.
Coming in third was Bartesian, a Canadian company which aims to become the “Keurig of cocktails”. It looks something like a high tech espresso machine, except there are four reservoirs for liquids. One is for water, the other three for your favorite booze. You then buy the little Keurig-like capsules, which contain all the pre-mixed non-alcoholic ingredients for a fancy cocktail, plop one in and it mixes flawless drinks for you and your guests.
There were a total of 15 companies in the scrum.