Smart Dog Collar Provides GPS, Training, More

Update: WUF was Successfully funded, and can be preordered here for $149.

So, every once in a while I write about some new GPS tracker—usually for pets—that is on Kickstarter. Some of them make it, like Trakr, and some of them don’t. But for the most part, they are all pretty similar as  far as features go. In fact, I pass up a lot of Kickstarter trackers that don’t look like they’re going to make their goal, or that are not anything new or original. And I have to say, this kickstarter is definitely different.

Meet WUF, a rugged new doggy tracker that does all the traditional tracking things—realtime, phone support, geofences, etc—in addition to striving to help you train your four-legged friend and spend more time with them. This little device has a two-way audio connection so you can talk with your pup when you aren’t around. I’m not sure if that’s more likely to confuse your dog or calm them down, but it is certainly unique in a tracker. Because of this feature, the product does require $10/month or $100/year subscription. However, some of the pledge levels include a year free, and the subscription is no-contract.

WUF also wants to act as a training guide, and it measures, well, a lot. It tracks your dog’s periods of activity and sleeping, it listens to barking and tries to figure out why, it analyzes interactions and, as the kickstarter puts it, “… [it starts] to learn what sort of relationship you and your dog have together. From the walks you go on, to the way you talk to each other and what your favorite playtime activity is.” From there, WUF supplies suggestions, almost like a doggy coach.

However, it seems like different might not be better, and the Kickstarter project is having a little bit of trouble making it through the last stretch. At the time of writing, it is still short of the $50,000 goal with only a few days left. If you want to jump on board and help fund this project, you can get your own WUF for a $99 pledge.