The Potential of Technology to Connect People and Pets (Part 1)

Wearable devices are currently gaining attention as one of the ICT (Information and Communications Technology) trends. As wearables enter various fields like watches, glasses, and headphones, this time we discuss the significant potential of wearables and technology for pets. Akashi, a founding member of the Think Pet Project, and Yonezawa, a member of the same project who researched wearables for pets, share their insights.

 

Automatically post cat behavior to SNS to track daily activity.

Akashi: I understand you researched wearables during your graduate studies, Yonezawa. What exactly did you work on?

Yonezawa: There's a field called "Human Computer Interaction" that studies how people interact with computers. Within that, I researched and developed wearables. At the time, most wearable research focused on humans, but since I've always loved cats, I arbitrarily named it "Human Cat Interaction" (laughs) and pursued wearable research and development for cats.

Akashi: Wearables for cats?

Yonezawa: I developed a platform called " Cat@Log." It involved equipping a cat's collar with a camera, GPS, an accelerometer, and other functions to collect various data. For example, it recorded actions like walking or eating, allowed you to see what they were doing from the cat's perspective, and logged location data to create a territory map. Based on that behavioral analysis, I also created a module that automatically posted updates to blogs or SNS about what the cat had been doing.

Akashi: So by checking the blog or SNS, you can see what kind of day your pet had. Did you discover anything new when you actually used it?

Yonezawa: At the time, I had two cats at my parents' house. I thought they weren't very friendly with each other, or rather, they just didn't care about each other. But when I looked at the camera footage, I saw that when one was being brushed, the other would actually watch enviously. Also, when people weren't home, the two were often together.

Akashi: Discovering new sides to your pets must be wonderful for owners. Weren't wearables for pets still rare back then?

Yonezawa: It was around 2008, so even wearables for people weren't common yet. I don't think there were any wearable products for pets.

Akashi: What made you fall in love with cats in the first place?

Yonezawa: I grew up with cats at my parents' house, and both my mother and grandmother love cats, so it's probably genetic (laughs). I still live alone and have a cat now. His name is Ryota, and I found him when I was a graduate student. He had scabies, a skin disease, so I took him to the vet right away and had him cared for by a rescue group for about eight months. Then, when I started my job and moved into my own place, I took him in at that time.

Akashi: Didn't you hesitate about getting a cat while living alone?

Yonezawa: Oh, I agonized over it for ages. Raita is an FIV carrier, so I had to ensure he lived a stress-free life. But once I got a job, I wouldn't be home during the day at least, and some days I'd get home late. He'd probably get hungry and might feel lonely. At the shelter, there's always someone around, and there are lots of other cats, so I really thought hard about which would make Raita happier. But after consulting with the shelter staff and hearing from a senior colleague who lives alone with a cat, I decided to adopt him.

 

Technology is changing the "can't keep pets" mindset among single-person households.

Akashi: I think the anxieties and uncertainties Yonezawa-san just described are common worries for many people living alone who want to get a pet, or already have one. There's always that worry: what if I have a long business trip, how will they get fed? What if something happens while I'm away? You can't even send an email saying "How are you?" (laughs). That's where wearables like Mr. Yonezawa's " Cat@Log " could give people hesitating to adopt that extra push, or ease the anxieties of current pet owners.

Yonezawa: Japan is expected to see an increase in single-person households, so creating an environment where people can keep pets with peace of mind will become increasingly necessary. In that sense, I think wearables that bridge physical distance hold great potential.

Akashi: Single-person households sometimes go days without speaking to anyone, but having a dog or cat naturally prompts conversation and creates communication. As mentioned in the previous column, there's also the theory that petting pets releases love hormones in both humans and animals, stabilizing emotions. From a mental health perspective, pet ownership is truly meaningful. That's precisely why initiatives to lower the barriers for single-person households to own pets, including wearables, should be supported by the entire industry.

※The second part of this interview will be updated on Wednesday, March 18.