Lin Yung-sung, associate professor at Taichung County’s Hsiuping Institute of Technology, recently invented a pet-feeding machine that could interact with your dog at home as if the master were physically there. The pet-feeding machine is constructed in the shape of a dog. Besides feeding the pet on time, it also records the master’s voice to increase interaction with the animal. The inventor of this machine has already obtained a patent.
Lin has had Mini, a poodle, for more than six years. He found that Mini felt lonely every time he went to work, or when he was just absent for a while. As a protest against his master, Mini would tear paper tissues in pieces and often urinate on the bed. This was the motivation behind the creation of this machine that Lin describes as a Trojan Horse. The inventor actually obtained this idea by watching the movie Troy two years ago, when he saw the soldiers hiding in the wooden horse.
Lin said that this feeding machine is capable of containing eight cans at the same time. A microchip makes the machine open cans, and a rod pushes the food out of the can. The machine is built in the shape of a dog for better interaction with the animal.
Lin added that the machine doesn’t only take care of the animal’s physical condition. It is also concerned about the pet’s mood. Therefore he designed a recording function so that the pet owner could record sentences to comfort his animal friend, such as “Mini, don’t worry, I will be home in the afternoon!” or “Mini, be a nice dog. Don’t run around the house.” These recordings can be played at a time set by the owner, so that the pet feels that the master is always around.
Commenting on the cost, Lin said that the prototype cost him over NT$100,000. It is yet to go into mass production, but the price could be less than NT$5,000, which, while not dog cheap, is still affordable for most people.
(LIBERTY TIMES, TRANSLATED BY TAIJING WU)
台中縣修平技術學院助理教授林永嵩，為解決外出時寵物無人餵食的困擾，製作全國第一台小狗造型寵物自動餵食機，除可設定時間定時餵食外，還能錄下主人的聲音增加互動，已取得專利權。
飼養貴賓狗「Mini」已經六年的林永嵩，發現每次上班、外出回家，獨自在家的Mini因為寂寞，經常在床上小便抗議，或是將面紙咬得滿地都是，於是苦思如何製造可與狗狗互動、又能定時餵食的機器。兩年多前他偶然看到「特洛伊：木馬屠城」電影，從士兵藏在木馬中得到靈感，於是展開研發之路。
林永嵩表示，這部餵食機可從頭部一次投進八罐罐頭，再利用晶片控制，定時打開罐頭，並設計推桿將罐頭內食物推出餵食，還把餵食機裝扮成狗狗造型，增加與寵物之間的互動。
林永嵩說，除了寵物生理外，更考慮到心理，特別設計了錄音音功能。主人可錄下「Mini我下午就回來喔」、「乖乖不要亂跑喔」等聲音，再設定時間播放，讓寵物感覺主人隨時在家，增加與寵物的互動。
林永嵩表示，第一部餵食機花了約十萬元研發，目前還無法量產，若能大量生產，價格將壓低在五千元內，提高民眾購買的意願。
（自由時報記者陳建志）
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