There are some among us who are so in love with our cats that sometimes leaving the house can be painful. What do they do all day? Did they eat? Are they watching the neighborhood squirrel? The reality is they are probably sleeping, but just in case Mark de Vinck has created a DIY wooden cat toy — the Kitty Twitty — that tweets you when your cat plays with it.
You see, his wife was cat obsessed and asked him for updates all day. There was only one answer: create an Arduino hack that would keep her forever in the loop and him firmly out of it.
De Vinck put a switchboard inside a wooden box that was connected to an irresistible cat toy at the end. The result? Anytime the cat played with the toy, the switchboard would relay tweets to his wife. What the tweets said? Anyone's guess, but we're sure she understands.
De Vinck sees endless potential with his DIY hack — you could add sensors to a food bowl (OMG! Kitteh's eating!). Or in their bed (assuming it is not your bed — no one wants that on Twitter).
If this is not tickling your fancy that must mean you are a dog person. No worries — the toy could likely be implemented into something your dog would like. Presumably just a bit tougher. I mean really, if a cat can make it work…
We love a good DIY project and fortunately for the animal loving world, the instructions are listed here on MakeProjects, complete with step-by-steps and pictures.
What's cool about this is if the goal of technology is to create a further connection between computers and humans, this is a perfect example of how it doesn't have to be rocket science to do it. Using computers to connect pet owners to their pets is pure gold. PHOTOS
MakeProjects, via TechCrunch
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