Wearable tech market for humans is growing rapidly, but there’s also a growing market in wearable technology for animals, from trackers and other gadgets. According to a report published in prnewswire, there are currently about 300 companies in the world manufacturing wearables for pets to livestock and wild animals, and the number of manufacturers is expected to rise to 500 in 10 years. Most of these devices are used in the United States and Europe followed by Australia where RFID tagging of cattle is mandatory. Currently, the most popular types of wearable devices for animals across the world are RFID ear tags for cows followed by non-RFID collars on dogs. We’ve gathered a list of 5 such wearables, where you’ll find tech for dogs, horses, cows and even bees.
GoPro Fetch Dog
The GoPro Fetch Dog is a camera harness for dogs. The device lets you capture the world from your dog’s point of view. This harness allows you to put your GoPro camera either on the dog’s back or under its front for a dog’s eye view of your adventures together. It’s Fully adjustable to fit dogs from 15 to 120 lbs (7 to 54 kg). Chest mount can be removed to accommodate smaller dogs. Padding at all adjustment points ensures your pet’s comfort. Washable, water-friendly material holds up to swimming, splashing, mud and more.
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Catsacam
Why should humans have all the social networking fun? Now, with Catsacam, your cat can post to its own Instagram. This collar-worn camera can shoot six photos per minute, then upload the best ones to Instagram via Wi-Fi. As it is difficult for a pet to use shutter buttons, the camera is activated by motion.
Garmin Delta Smart
Delta Smart™ is a training system and activity trackers for dogs. It works with Garmin Canine™ on your compatible smartphone or other mobile device. Customizable training features allow you to select the type of signal/correction you want for your pet. Keep Away Tags (sold separately) help deter pets from accessing undesired areas. Features industry-leading bark detection with tone, vibration or stimulation corrective training. With the Garmin Canine mobile app, you can use your smartphone as a remote handheld trainer. Reinforce the behaviors you want from your dog – and discourage the ones you don’t. Simply press a key on your phone’s display, and your dog will receive a vibration, tone alert or corrective stimulation from the electronic collar.
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Vital Herd
The Vital Herd tracker is an e-pill tracker that’s added to a cow’s feed, ending up in their stomach where it wirelessly transmits readings for the rest of the animal’s life. While lying inside the stomach, it monitors heart rate, core temperature, breathing rate, and the effect of the acid in the cow’s stomach. This enables herd managers to spot health problems in animals, and gauge when they’re in heat.
Bee tracker
In 2015, a company called Tumbling Dive designed a very small wearable tracker for bees in association with the University of Newcastle, and it was trialed at London’s Kew Gardens. As bees weigh very little, the device uses a tiny RFID transmitter and a mini aerial coil that are superglued to the bees.