Assistant Professor Lin Yung-song of Taichung County’s Hsiuping Institute of Technology has created Taiwan's first automatic feeding machine for small dogs.
The contraption is able to release food on a timer, and the pet owner can record various utterances on the installed microphone and speaker system to soothe the pet when the owner is away from home.
Lin has had a poodle named "Mini" for the past six years. He discovered that when he went to work, the dog would frequently urinate on his bed or chew up a box of tissues, in protest against being left alone. This got Lin thinking about concocting a device to interact with as well as feed pet dogs when their owners are away. A couple of years ago, Lin got the idea for how to do it when he saw the soldiers hiding in the Trojan horse in the movie “Troy.”
Lin said the feeding machine, designed in the shape of a dog to stimulate interaction, is able to hold eight cans of food loaded from the top. A computer chip controls the device's timer, opening each tin of food at a set time, and a rod pushes the food out of the container to feed the pet.
In consideration of an animal's psychological state, Lin also added a recording function to the machine so pet owners can record sayings such as "I'll be home in the afternoon," or "Be a good dog and don't get into trouble," and broadcast them at designated times throughout the day. Lin hopes this will enable the pet to feel that its master is around.
Lin said it cost about NT$100,000 (US$3,180) to develop the first automatic feeding machine, which has already received a patent, adding that if it can be produced on a mass basis, the price tag of each piece can be kept below NT$5,000 to stir up consumer interest.
(This article originally appeared in “The Liberty Times” April 22.)