'Pet-tech' of the future? Patents reveal sunglasses for dogs, chainmail collars for SNAKES and cat flaps that use radiation to exclude non-gingers

  • The patents were uncovered by Laura Compton, trainee patent attorney from European Patent and Trade Mark firm, Haseltine Lake LLP 
  • Among its finds is a 'pet sunglasses system' to provide shade for dogs
  • IBM has patented a pet-sitting drone that looks after your animals for you

Pet-sitting drones and 'smart' cat flaps that use radiation to recognise your feline could be the future of pet care.

That's according to Laura Compton from Haseltine Lake, who has uncovered futuristic pet-related patents ranging from the clever to the bizarre.

Among its finds is a 'pet sunglasses system' to provide shade to dogs and 'small animals'.

Laura Compton from European Patent and Trade Mark firm, Haseltine Lake, has uncovered futuristic pet-related patents ranging from the clever to the bizarre. Among its finds is a 'pet sunglasses system' to provide shade to dogs and 'small animals' (pictured)

Laura Compton from European Patent and Trade Mark firm, Haseltine Lake, has uncovered futuristic pet-related patents ranging from the clever to the bizarre. Among its finds is a 'pet sunglasses system' to provide shade to dogs and 'small animals' (pictured)

The patent, was filed in 1998 by Yolanda Ramirez of North Carolina, and describes a pair of sunglasses with a flexible strap to fit on animals. 

'Not only does this invention protect your pet's eyes and prevent cataracts, but your pet will also look ridiculously cool,' Laura writes in her blog.

IBM, meanwhile, has patented a pet-sitting drone that looks after your animals when you're not there. 

Using cameras and sensors, it studies your pet's behavior, picks activities and takes them on obedience training.

It also connects wirelessly to smart-home devices to activate a ball-thrower or dispense treats.

Other patents include a collar allowing snake owners to walk their pets. 

The patent, titled 'Collar Apparatus Enabling Secure Handling of a Snake by Tether', means 'you never have to leave the house without your beloved snake again.'

It describes a chainmail-like necklace of beads in parallel rows that cancel out the concertina motion of the animal to keep it from slipping its leash.

The patent, titled 'Collar Apparatus Enabling Secure Handling of a Snake by Tether', means 'you never have to leave the house without your beloved snake again.' It describes a necklace of beads in parallel rows that cancel out the  motion of a snake to keep it from slipping its leash

The patent, titled 'Collar Apparatus Enabling Secure Handling of a Snake by Tether', means 'you never have to leave the house without your beloved snake again.' It describes a necklace of beads in parallel rows that cancel out the motion of a snake to keep it from slipping its leash

Another patent, dating from 1974, describes a 'Photon Push-Pull Radiation Detector For Use in Chromatically Selective Cat Flap Control and 1,000 Megaton Earth-Orbital Peace-Keeping Bomb'. Filed by the late Arthur Pedrick, of Selsey, West Sussex it relates to a 'chromatically selective cat flap' only lets a cat with ginger fur pass

Another patent, dating from 1974, describes a 'Photon Push-Pull Radiation Detector For Use in Chromatically Selective Cat Flap Control and 1,000 Megaton Earth-Orbital Peace-Keeping Bomb'. Filed by the late Arthur Pedrick, of Selsey, West Sussex it relates to a 'chromatically selective cat flap' only lets a cat with ginger fur pass

It is noted in this patent that a standard animal collar would not be suitable for snakes as they have 'no external appendages', and that snakes also gradually change in circumference as they grow.

Another patent, dating from 1974, describes a 'Photon Push-Pull Radiation Detector For Use in Chromatically Selective Cat Flap Control and 1,000 Megaton Earth-Orbital Peace-Keeping Bomb'.

Filed by the late Arthur Pedrick, of Selsey, West Sussex it relates to a 'chromatically selective cat flap' only lets a cat with ginger fur pass.

It seems the motivation for this invention was the theft of the ginger cat's food by the next door neighbour's 'younger and more agile' black cat.' 

The cat flap was engineered such that it would permit entry of a cat based on the energy of the radiation reflected from its fur to allow 'considerable feline rivalry' to be avoided. 

According to a report in the Times, a scaled-up version could be used to detect the origin of a nuclear attack and drop a bomb on the attacking nation.

IBM has patented a pet-sitting drone that looks after your animals when you're not there. Using cameras and sensors, it studies your pet's behavior, picks activities and takes them on obedience training

IBM has patented a pet-sitting drone that looks after your animals when you're not there. Using cameras and sensors, it studies your pet's behavior, picks activities and takes them on obedience training

PEOPLE HAVE KEPT ANIMALS AS PETS FOR MILLENNIA

Pets have been a companion to humans for millennia.

In fact, according to Greger Larson, director of the University of Oxford's palaeogenomics and bio-archaeology research network, humans have likely kept baby animals for amusement as long as humans have lived.

But the story of exactly how animals became domesticated is much debated and often only glimpsed at from scraps of fossils and DNA.

Scientists largely agree that dogs were the first domestic animal. They were tamed and used for work or for their meat.

A study published by University of Maine researchers in 2011 found evidence that dogs were being bred, and, eaten, by humans living in Texas some 9,400 years ago.

A more recent study in 2017 found dogs were domesticated in a single event by humans living in Eurasia. 

Dr Krishna Veeramah, an assistant professor in evolution at Stony Brook University, told MailOnline: 'We've found clear evidence that dogs were domesticated 20,000 to 40,000 years ago.

'New research last year provocatively suggested that dogs could have been domesticated twice but our conclusion was there is no evidence for dual domestication.

'We would argue that finding evidence for only one domestication event is a big deal, because it is very important to helping us understand how domestication works.'

His research found that dogs evolved to be a separate species from wild wolves sometime between 20,000 and 40,000 years ago. 

But it's not known if they were the first pets, and kept for companionship. 

A study this year found  compared the genomes, or complete genetic codes, of modern domestic and wild rabbits to see how long it had taken them to diverge.

Using the known mutation rate of certain biomolecules as a 'molecular clock' they found it was not possible to pin down rabbit domestication to a single date or event.

Instead, the creation of tame buns appeared to be a cumulative effect stretching back to Roman times and possibly the Stone Age.  

The story of domestication is not a linear progression from wild to domestic, Larsen told the Smithsonian

'These things exist on a continuum,' says Larson. He said when the first pet came into being is 'a bit like asking when did life begin?'

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