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Pebby lets you play with your pet even when you are away

Do you ever wonder what your pet is doing at home while you are away? Are they causing mischief or just simply sleeping?

These questions can be easily answered by the myriad number of smart home-based cameras that are readily available on the market. What those cameras don’t do, however, is allow you to play and interact with your pet while also checking in on them. That’s where Pebby, the “robotic pet sitter,” comes in.

Essentially a ball-shaped camera that is controllable from your smartphone, Pebby is “a smart collar and ball system that allows you to monitor and entertain your pet from your cell phone, anytime and anywhere you may be.”

Pebby offers a variety of entertainment options for your pet as it can be chased and project a chase-able laser. Also, if you become busy and are unable to play with your pet through Pebby’s app, it comes equipped with an automatic mode that can continue to entertain your four-legged friend. Pebby can also emit a “woof” or “memo,” and even play a prerecorded message from you to remind your pet that you are always near.

While the entertainment options are the main features of Pebby, the ball’s heavy duty and waterproof case may be its best aspect. The case is shatterproof and durable thanks to its industrial-grade polycarbonate casing.

“We spent quite some time on [research and development] just for the outer casing,” Pebby’s Thinesh Vengasamy told Digital Trends. “This casing is one of the highest grades you can find. We worked with Mitsubishi Plastics to actually develop [this special casing] that we have right now.”

Another great aspect of Pebby is the system’s charging station, which you can send the robotic toy to through the app. Once you do that, Pebby will automatically find the charging station and start to charge itself upon entry. Pebby can be in play mode for up to 90 minutes and in idle mode. The battery lasts for 12 hours.

Officially retailing for $249, Pebby is available for pre-orders at $189 and will start shipping out after they finish beta testing in the first quarter of 2018.

Ananth Pandian
Former Digital Trends Contributor
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