A robotic pet sitter designed by an offshoot of a Skolkovo resident startup has raised more than double the amount it was seeking, just a few days into its crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter.
Pebby consists of a smart collar and a remote-controlled ball that contains a camera. Photo: Pebby.
Sybo Tech Singapore, a representative office of Sybo Tech, a resident of Skolkovo’s IT cluster, launched the campaign on March 7 for its Pebby product, a smart collar and ball system that allows pet owners to see what their pets are up to when they are not home – and to play with them via their mobile phone.
The company’s target was $50,000, but three days into the campaign, pledges worth more than $110,000 had already been received, with 27 days still to go until the end of the campaign. Most backers went for the option of pledging $124 or more in exchange for a Pebby set – half the cost of the retail value.
“After all the headaches of designing and testing we’ve been through, we can finally say – it was all worth it,” the company wrote on its Kickstarter campaign page on March 8, as the target amount was reached just 24 hours after the launch.
The Pebby pack consists of a Pebby ball, a charging dock for the ball, and a motion sensor collar. The accompanying Pebby app can be downloaded at no cost. The Pebby ball is remote controlled via the app, and using Wi-Fi and Bluetooth technology, allows owners to move the ball for their pet and see their pet’s reaction.
There is also an auto-play function that can be turned on to entertain pets without any human input. The ball is both shatterproof and waterproof, meaning it should stand up to even the most energetic pets. It can be charged by driving it into the Pebby Kennel wireless charger included in the set.
Pebby is made by an offshoot of Sybo Tech, which develops indoor mobile robot navigation software. It can be seen in action here.