If you thought using a laser pointer was the most high-tech way to screw with you cat, well, then you haven’t seen Mousr.
Developed by former University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign electrical engineering students, Mousr very well may be the future of cat toys. The robotic mouse keeps your feline friend on its toes, but rather than operating by remote control, it reacts to your cat’s movements as if it were a real mouse.
The team at Petronics says that Mousr is the first robotic mouse that can move and react to a cat. It has 360-degree vision so it can see the cat coming from any direction, and its motion sensing technology allows it to dodge when a cat approaches and entice the cat to play. This month Petronics launched a Kickstarter for Mousr, which hopes to raise $100,000 by December 5. With 11 days left to go, the robotic mouse has raised over $89,000.
The Kickstarter video tells more about the device. Come to see Mousr in action, stay for the rap video at the end.
Petronics is looking to make Mousr even smarter by building artificial intelligence technology that will not only keep Mousr moving, but have it learn and adapt from the cat’s movements, providing more of a challenge.
Petronics has also developed an app that lets you control Mousr’s travel from your smartphone for those who want more control over its movements.
“Without a doubt, Mousr is the most technologically advanced cat toy ever to exist,” the Kickstarter reads. “We’ve been called crazy, and maybe we are, but personally we think cats are worth it. After all, cats are people, too.”
Kickstarter backers can get a Mousr for $140, and Petronics expects to ship the devices by October 2015.