One of the most frequently asked question is if petTracer can also be used for other pets or if it is suitable for tracking people. Our answer to this is a clear “No”. We have specifically designed petTracer for cats – and cats only. Cats need a customized and specifically designed solution, due to their nature (small size etc.) and somewhat unpredictable behaviour. As each target group has its own demands, so do cats. Areas of interest are comfort of the collar and evenly distributed weight and size. It takes a lot of effort to master these requirements. In addition, there are further requirements from the owners in the areas of reliability, battery life and precision. No universal tracker is currently able to fulfil all of these requirements. An external “block” on an ordinary cat collar could cause your cat neck problems, ill feelings and bad moods.

petTracer – Tests

Topolino, our office and test cat, has tested the petTracer GPS cat collar with great eagerness… and was very “enthusiastic”. It’s very, very exciting to see the recorded tracks and it’s a lot of fun to see where he has gone or currently is.

We have once again realized how important it is to record the whole track of the cat. Once the cat is in an area of no GPS reception, like a garage or cellar, there is zero chance that the owner will find it again.

Thanks to various optimizations, the positioning accuracy has been significantly increased. First comparisons show that we are more accurate than a corresponding Smartphone localization. And we still have room for improvement, as we can increase the accuracy even further with an ingenious method. At present, the software will be completed in this area. It is already widely known that the localization of conventional GPS trackers is very inaccurate and unfortunately not suitable for cats. Inaccuracy of up to 100 meters in deviation from the actual position were reported to us by users of such devices.

Battery life

Since our device is equipped with a sophisticated power-saving system and is able to permanently trace the track of your cat, it is difficult to compare the battery life to conventional GPS trackers. But we will try anyway.

Conventional GPS Tracker
One localization per hour = 24 detections per day, with an average battery life of 6 days. This corresponds to 6 * 24 = 144 position localizations. Then the battery is empty.

petTracer GPS Cat Collar
Every 10 seconds a localization (if needed) corresponds to 6 * 60 * 24 = 8640 detections per day. In order to make it comparable, we also approximate a battery life of 6 days (even though it is more). This is equal to 6 * 8640 = 51’840 position localizations in the same period. It corresponds to 360x more positions localized compared to conventional GPS trackers.

Radiation Exposure

It is still not fully clear how harmful mobile phone radiation is to an organism. But one thing we know for sure: we simply have a bad feeling about keeping the thing permanently near our head – even in stand-by mode. During a phone call, our ear gets uncomfortably warm after only a short period of time. Furthermore, why do we keep our mobile phone as far away as possible and not on our bedside table near our head when we go to sleep? Not because we know about the harmful effects of mobile phone radiation in detail but rather, because we have a bad feeling about it. Cats, unlike us, are fully dependant on the decision of the cat owner and do not have a choice of their own. So make sure you make the right decision!

Comfort / Weight

The GPS cat collars, which we use for the field test, weigh only 26 grams including the battery and security seal. These are unique pieces which are made of heavier material than the ones that will be used in the serial production. The petTracer GPS cat collar will be the lightest GPS cat collar on the market. And in addition it will be mobile phone radiation free…. for the sake of your cat! This alone is reason enough to have a little more patience and wait for petTracer.

Ready for the market

It has already been a while since we intended to deliver the petTracer GPS cat collar. Different areas of concern and several unforeseen things have led to the current delays. Meanwhile, we have a well-functioning overall system and we are improving it day by day. At this point we would like to thank everybody most sincerely who has been waiting so patiently for the petTracer GPS Cat Collar.

We once more need a little further patience and understanding and then we will finally be ready to deliver the GPS Cat Collar. As we mentioned earlier, we will deliver to the Indiegogo-Backers first. This will occur before the official market launch. We reckon that all “non-Indiegogo-Backers” will be served sometime in spring next year. Everything else is unrealistic and we do not want to give any false promises. Upon finalization of the production contract, we will provide an exact delivery date as soon as possible.

We are still completely convinced that the functionality of the GPS petTracer cat collar is critical and everyone who is willing to wait will be rewarded with an ultra-light, high-tech device with the following advantages:

– extremely light weight and high wearing comfort for the cat
– no “mobile phone radiation” for people and animals
– cost transparency (purchase price and subscription)
– unlimited position requests at no additional charge
– permanent and accurate track records at no extra cost
– long battery life thanks to the patented energy management system

Once again thank you all for your patience and support.

Kind regards,
Alan & Claudio