An Australian design student has developed a new mobile device that allows her to talk, see and play with her dog - Dopey - when he is alone at home.
Angela Lam, 23, the industrial design student at The University of New South Wales (UNSW) was worried her little dog was lonely while she was away, so she used her skills to develop a device that allowed her communicate with him while they were separated.
As part of her degree at UNSW, Angela built a model prototype she called PawsyWalsy, a device that would be operated remotely via an app.
From her mobile phone she could speak to the dog through a loudspeaker and order the device to release a special ball with a mechanism inside to roll around the house for several minutes entertaining Dopey, the dog.
The idea is she could even watch the dog play through a video in the device, which could also release odours to freshen the air in the home or calm the dog.
"I felt so sorry for Dopey who was bored at home all alone while I was at uni, so I thought up this device so that I could play with him even when I wasn't there," said Angela in a statement.
She hopes to build a working model that would sell for around USD 300.
PawsyWalsy is one of many projects by graduating students from UNSW's Faculty of Built Environment currently on display in an exhibition.