If you want to get inside of your pet's head, the tech hasn't arrived yet, but one company hopes to have it trending in the right direction.
Los Angeles-based FluentPet has developed a series of tiles it claims help four-legged companions communicate with their humans. Through training, they can learn to associate various tiles with words they've learned over time and then use their paws to press them.
The tech has been a hit on platforms like TikTok, where tons of "talking dog" videos have gone viral.
There are a wide range of options to select from when it comes to purchasing the tech. Test kits start out around $35 with the most expensive option, They Can Talk Kit, being priced around $230.
The company also recently launched FluentPet Connect, which integrates the tile button system into an app. This helps keep pet owners connected to their pets at all times. If a person isn't home, their pet could send an alert, similar to a text message.
The system is available for an additional $69.99 but is compatible with tiles that have already hit the market.
However, devices like FluentPet and the studies that have been done with their subjects do face skepticism from scientists. Clive Wynne, the founding director of the Canine Science Collaboratory at Arizona State University, explained that rather than language comprehension, the dogs are being conditioned.
“This is one of the most basic forms of learning in the animal kingdom," Wynne told the Washington Post. "The dog forms an association between an action and an outcome that it desires.”
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Coming off of a fourth-quarter delivering just over 300,000 cars, Tesla is expected to report tremendous earnings after the bell on Wednesday. Al Root, a senior writer for Barron’s, spoke with Cheddar’s Baker Machado about the anticipated earnings report and speculated about what Elon Musk will discuss during the call with investors, including a Cybertruck update, new factories, a possible new vehicle, and/or new larger form batteries. "There's a menu of things he could talk about, and any combination of those would be good," said Root.
Foodable Labs data shows restaurants that started offering vegan options saw a 13% increase in traffic. According to this 2018 study, 51% of U.S. restaurants now offer vegan options, and we can expect that number to keep rising. This week, one plant-based, fast-casual restaurant celebrates the grand opening of their first brick-and-mortar store in New York City: PLNT Burger. Ben Kaplan, CEO of PLNT Burger, joins Cheddar News to discuss.
Chris Smyth, EY Americas Private Equity Leader, joins Cheddar News to discuss 2021's banner year of private equity market growth, and trends and predictions going into 2022.
