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.”
From Wall Street to Silicon Valley, these are the top stories that moved markets and had investors, business leaders, and entrepreneurs talking this week on Cheddar.
Cheddar has been covering the biggest news of the week with some of the biggest names in the biz. In case you missed it, we've pulled together some of the highlights that will keep you informed as we get ready for the week ahead.
Cheddar News visited the Amazon Fulfillment Center in Robbinsville, New Jersey and spoke to Amazon global communications director Rena Lunak to learn more about how its prepared for the supply chain crunch this holiday season.
Despite missing estimates on job gains by a wide margin, the November 2021 jobs report from the Labor Department shows an economy trudging along toward its pre-pandemic state.
Wall Street closed out a bumpy week with more losses on Friday following a mixed reading on U.S. jobs markets that investors said was tough to parse. The S&P 500 gave up an early gain and closed 0.8% lower.
Extreme weather and supply chain disruptions have reduced supplies of both real and artificial trees this season.
Major League Baseball plunged into its first work stoppage in a quarter-century when the sport’s collective bargaining agreement expired and owners immediately locked out players in a move that threatens spring training and opening day.
A month after Facebook changed its name to Meta, Square Inc. is changing its name to Block.
Stocks rose broadly on Wall Street Thursday as investors continue to monitor the spread of the new coronavirus variant as well as measures that the U.S. and other governments are taking to restrain it.
President Nayib Bukele announced last week that the Central American country plans to issue the world's first "Bitcoin bond" early next year.
