CleverPet

CleverPet develops and sells the CleverPet Hub, an internet-connected device that presents dogs with food-based puzzle challenges. The company describes the Hub, released in 2016, as the first game console for dogs. The unit dispenses dry kibble or kibble-sized treats as rewards when an animal interacts with three illuminated touchpads, and it advances through a sequence of twelve challenges that scale automatically with the animal's demonstrated ability. Challenges progress from simply eating food offered for free, through exploring and pressing touchpads, distinguishing lit from unlit pads, comparing brightness, chaining two or more presses in sequence, completing patterns up to nine presses long, and finally color-matching puzzles using blue and yellow.

The Hub pairs with an iPhone or Android app that is required for setup and lets owners schedule play, manage gameplay, limit food, and track statistics and progress while away from home. Hardware specifications include a stainless steel bowl, a dog-proof lid, a non-slip base, pressure sensors intended to stop movement on slight contact, a 2.5-cup kibble capacity, dimensions of 16 x 15 x 7 inches, a weight of 11 pounds, and 12V DC power via barrel jack. The device connects to 2.4GHz 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi. The company reports typical usage of roughly 50 to 500 plays per day, and states that the Hub has been used by dogs ranging from 4 to 160 pounds as well as by cats and other species including elephants, foxes, ferrets, servals, donkeys and pigs, though it is designed primarily for dogs and cats. The current version supports a single animal profile per Hub.

The company frames its work around animal cognition and welfare, stating a mission to enrich the home lives of dogs and cats and to strengthen the human-animal bond, and citing associative learning, classical and operant conditioning, the Law of Effect, and adaptive difficulty as the basis for its challenge design.

Founding story

Co-founder and chief executive Leo Trottier started CleverPet while a PhD candidate at the University of California, San Diego. He holds a degree from the cognitive science and artificial intelligence program at the University of Toronto and previously ran Scholarpedia, an academic counterpart to Wikipedia. CleverPet participated in San Diego's EvoNexus incubator and the Qualcomm Robotics Accelerator powered by Techstars.

Business model

CleverPet sells hardware directly to consumers as a one-time purchase, with the Hub listed at $249 including a refurbished-unit option and a 100% satisfaction guarantee. Software is delivered as a continuing service: new games, such as the Color Match color-matching challenge, are downloaded to installed Hubs automatically and are provided free to existing customers. A companion smartphone app supports setup, scheduling and progress tracking.

Revenue comes from one-time device sales, priced at $249 for the CleverPet Hub, with refurbished units also offered; additional games are distributed to owners at no charge.

Traction

The company states that the Hub has been shipped since 2016 and refers to thousands of dog owners using it, with customer testimonials describing dogs progressing through the touchpad and light-based challenges. Twelve challenges are available, and a Color Match game was released to all customers at no cost.

Latest developments

Color Match, described as the company's latest game, adds dozens of color-based puzzles that scale in difficulty with the dog's ability and is available free to all customers. Marketing emphasizes occupying dogs while owners work from home.