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There have been amazing advances in high-tech dog products over the last couple of years. With the evolution of AI, cameras are now able to distinguish between a dog and a human, detect movement and intelligently follow your dog automatically !
We take a closer look at 3 of the best canine gadgets for 2024 that use AI pet tracking technology and help you decide if these innovative gizmos are something you need in your life.
We'll let you into a little secret - we loved them all !
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Our Picks of the Best Pet Cameras
1. Best Pet Camera Overall
First of our picks is probably the best known pet camera, the top-end, Furbo 360°. It's a premium pet specific camera designed to allow you to not only monitor, but interact with your dog from afar using an app on your phone.
One of the biggest benefits of a pet security camera is being able to know what's going on when you're not there. They can offer you peace of mind that your dog is settled and relaxed. In fact you don't even need to leave the house to make use of a pet camera.
For dog's suffering from anxiety, pet cameras can be invaluable as you can check in on them from a different room whilst you slowly build up the time away from them.
If you have a new puppy, it also lets you ensure that they aren't chewing your furniture or getting into dangerous situations whilst you're not in the room.
If you dog has health issues that requires close monitoring such as diabetes or seizures, a pet camera can let you keep a watchful eye on them.
We put the Furbo 360° through it's paces to see what it had to offer dog lovers.
Straight out of the box it looks like a premium bit of tech, with it's hourglass shape and bamboo treat dispensing lid it would look at home in any room.
The Furbo 360° uses innovative and automatic AI motion tracking features, so you can use your phone app from another location to find out what your dog is doing anywhere.
Crucially, we found the app very intuitive and the simple controls made it easy to master. The main camera screen has arrows so you can pan the camera right or left manually. We did notice a slight delay in panning which does take a bit of getting used to but this was the case in all the cameras we tested.
Furbo’s dog recognition technology is AI-powered, so it is always getting smarter. The more Furbo learns about your dog’s patterns and behaviour, the smarter it gets in notifying you of important events about your dog.
The microphone button lets you talk to your dog, a camera button takes a photo and the video button lets you manually record a video segment. Simples !
And of course we must mention the treat launcher. Simply swipe up on the circular shaped treat graphic on your phone screen and the Furbo 360° tosses a treat.
With it's large treat reservoir it holds more than enough treats for the most anxious of dogs who may need calming whilst you're away.
The picture quality is surprisingly good and the 160° wide-angle camera gives a really clear picture.
With headline features including alerts if your pup has been barking, a camera which spins through the full 360° degree range to track your dog, the ability to toss treats on command along with the option to keep dog recordings, and daily video summaries of your dog's day.
In testing the Furbo 360° impressed us with its functionality and the phone app is surprisingly easy to get your head around so an all round fabulous bit of kit.
Reasons to Buy
- Feature packed
- Quality camera
- Two-way audio
- Treat launcher
- Sound detection
- Colour night vision
- Two year warranty
- Free Returns within 30 days
Reasons to Avoid
- Pricey option
Buying Options
If you'd like to know more, why not read our in-depth test - Dog Camera Review : Furbo 360°
2. Best Value Pet Camera
IMOU Rex 3D
Can't quite stretch to the Furbo 360° ? Alternatively you could go for the new Rex 3D from IMOU, which costs significantly less.
If you're in the market for a budget-friendly indoor security camera with a 360-degree pan & tilt and AI powered motion tracking, then take a closer look at the new upgraded indoor camera from IMOU.
If you haven't come across IMOU, they offer a range of indoor and outdoor security cameras and it's their newly upgraded Rex 3D Pet Camera that caught our eye.
Despite its affordable price, the IMOU Rex 3D packs the kinds of features you usually find on more expensive cameras. It delivers 2K video, detects motion and sound, offers remote pan and tilt controls, works with Amazon Alexa and even tracks motion.
It has a much smaller footprint than the Furbo 360° because it doesn't offer the treat dispensing feature.
But it's the use of AI technology that can accurately identify moving humans/pets, and immediately send notifications to your smartphone that we were impressed with.
When you activate the Smart Tracking function, the IMOU Rex 3D moves as your dog moves around the room.
Plus you can set up what is called a Smart Tour or a patrol area. This triggers the IMOU camera to automatically rotate at regular intervals to patrol important areas of the room - including the corners !
It's also worth mentioning that you can set up abnormal sound detection which sends a message to your phone and records the sound - which is great if your dog is liable to bark whilst you're away.
The camera and the accompanying phone app are exceptionally easy to install, and all of its features worked well in testing.
You can record videos to an SD card up to 256GB (not included) or to IMOU Cloud (30-day free trial with 7-day recording cycle) to ensure you can play back videos anytime.
Looking for some privacy or if you just want to use the camera when you're out of the house ? With just a click in the app, the IMOU camera will physically cover the lens to protect your privacy.
Ultimately, we found the phone app less intuitive than the Furbo app. For example, we eventually found Pet Detection and Smart Tracking in the Intrusion Detecting menu. However once we'd set all the features up, it was fairly straightforward.
Admittedly, the IMOU Rex 3D lacks the treat tossing feature of the Furbo 360° and it did take us a bit more time to master the phone app, but it is a significantly cheaper option, and well worth a look.
Reasons to Buy
- Feature packed
- Quality camera
- Two-way audio
- Abnormal sound detection
- B & W night vision
- Patrol mode
- Great value
- SD card or cloud storage
Reasons to Avoid
- App not as intuitive as Furbo
- No treat tossing feature
Buying Options
3. Best Smart Camera Mount
Pivo Pod
Now for something a bit different !
If your phone is bursting with dog photos and videos then what you need my friend is a Pivo Pod smart camera mount.
No need to ask anyone to film you and your dog, the Pivo Pod lets you record everything on your own and share cute videos on social media or simply look back and learn from your training sessions.
You can now capture your dog in action using AI technology and ultimately they can be the star of their own show.
There are several camera mounts on the market that use your phone and some smart tracking technology to follow you around, automatically shoot video and snap photos whenever you want.
The latest Pivo Pod has taken this one step further and their AI powered smart tracking feature is now designed to track your dog !
With a 360-degree rotation built in, the Pivo Pod can follow your dog, rotate, automatically zoom and move smoothly.
Perfect for recording training progress, a new puppy's antics or simply capturing the sheer magic of your dog, the Pivo Pod is a breeze to use.
We absolutely loved testing and reviewing the Pivo Pod, incredibly easy to use, ultimately, this amazing little gadget turns your smartphone into your personal cameraman.
If you're interested, why not take a look at our in-depth review - Pivo Pod : Capture Your Dog's Magic
If you're looking to keep tabs on your dog on a walk, why not take a look at the latest GPS Trackers. We review 4 of the best in our popular article - Best GPS Trackers for Dogs |
Our Verdict
Our picks for the Best AI Pet Cameras highlights the best products available to dog lovers making use of AI.
All three products we tested have the ability to distinguish between a dog and a human and follow your dog automatically. They all pack some nifty features from the premium Furbo 360° with it's treat tossing ability, to the great value IMOU Rex 3D to the fun Pivo Pod smart camera mount.
If you’re heading into summer worried about leaving an anxious pup at home alone or you're looking to creating some amazing videos of your fun antics with your dog, we'd recommend taking a closer look at the tech we've featured.
Thanks for stopping by and reading - Wagging With Tech: Unleashing the Power of AI Pet Cameras
