A company in Sweden is introducing a dog tracking system that uses mobile phones fitted with GPS. The product may help the owners of more than 15,000 dogs who go astray each year.
A small receiver attached to pets’ collars will help owners with the GPS mobile phone track their location.
The units, which have been developed by Petlink Development and M-Tech, are being rolled out in more than 40 pet stores across Sweden with subscription to the service costing SEK 79 per month.
The technology works by using a SIM card in the collar unit which responds to an SMS query from a mobile phone and sends its GPS coordinates. It can also be customised so that dogs can roam freely, with an alarm going off when the dog crosses a pre-set threshold.
“Being able to use GPS navigation to find your runaway dog is just one of many examples of how a mobile phone can make everyday life a little easier,” says Stefan Trampus, head of enterprise sales for Mobility Services at TeliaSonera Sweden.