Ford patents smart dog water bowl
High-tech electronic in-car drinking system for dogs, cats and other pets is in the works at FordFord has filed yet another patent targeted at pet owners, this time revealing a high-tech watering system for furry travelling companions.
Essentially a smart portable water bowl, the patent details a bowl that uses RF signal receivers, or sensors, to detect water level, temperature and the bowl’s location within the vehicle.
If your cat, dog or rabbit is running low on H2O, you’ll get a notification, as you will if the water spills or becomes too hot, for example.
There’s also a way for the bowl to check the water height, and if the animal has consumed a certain amount it’ll recommend taking them for potty time.
When both the pet and owner leave the vehicle, the system will sound the horn and play a so-called “sound exciter” to remind owners to remove the bowl.
The bowl is even fitted with a GPS feature in case you forget where you left it after your last trip.
“If the bowl is not in car it will remind the owner via touch-screen that the bowl is missing and show the location via blue triangulation if nearby or last GPS location if not within 600ft,” Ford said in its patent filing.
Sounds expensive.
The fancy water bowl appears to work in conjunction with Ford’s upcoming Pet Mode, which is tipped to make it safer to leave your pet unattended inside your vehicle for short periods of time, running heating or cooling where necessary and disabling the window and door switches.
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